Rouge Princess - Book 1 of the Serenity Falls series
by WolvenGoddess
Summary: NOT A TWILIGHT FANFICTION, only based on ideas from the series. Full description inside!
1. Prologue

_Serenity Falls has got to be the most deceiving slice of country ever heard of before. That is, if you've actually ever heard of it. Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, surrounded by wild woods, towering mountains, and occupied by a few hundred people, not much changed._

 _Until_ they _changed. But of course that's their most precious secret of all._

 _That, and the little princess who didn't have an inkling of how important she, or her family, really was._

Serenity is clueless about a lot of things: the town she was born in and the people she's expected to remember; the reason behind her Mom packing them up and moving across the country; and the group of teenagers who seem to regard her as a piece of meat every time they look at her.

New town, school, friends… torn between her emotions and who she thinks she is, how much more can Serenity take before she cracks?

Prologue

"Mom!" I silently curse as I finally slip my heavy bag off my shoulders. I honestly do not even know what I put in it to make it so heavy. School books can't possibly weigh that much.

"Hey honey!" Mom's bright smile precedes her as she comes into the kitchen. "How was school?"

"Totally awesome." I roll my eyes, plucking an orange out of the fruit bowl to cut up. Barely noticing Mom's nod of approval, I move around to the cutting board. "The rumors are getting more and more ridiculous," I tell her, "Apparently I read encyclopaedias as bedtime stories and listen to classical music in the shower."

The laugh that escapes her lips brings a smile to my face.

She knows just as well as I that while I'm good at English, my afterschool hobbies include painting and singing along off-tune to various pop songs.

We chatter for a while, discussing my school work and her latest pottery creations.

She's really into it at the moment, always appearing from the garage with clay or paint smeared all over her.

I guess that's where I get my creativeness from, because it's definitely not my grades.

After struggling for a couple years, Mom dropped out of school at the age of fifteen so she could look after her parents and help support them by getting a job.

It's a little over a week left until we'll be moving to Serenity Falls, the town Mom was born, raised and eventually married in.

Located in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, it couldn't be more different from our home in California than if we moved to Russia. Okay the language doesn't change, but I have no way to even prepare myself for this.

The place doesn't even exist on Google Maps! Trust me, I spent hours trying to find it.

At first when Mom spoke to me about it I had been horrified. Moving to a place I barely remember to help care for a grandmother I couldn't even recognise if I passed her on the street? Not exactly something to rejoice about.

But then I thought about it. I have no friends, not really fitting in with any of the kids at school, so I don't have anyone I'll have to worry about losing contact with. I can't miss friends I don't have.

While Santa Monica is nice, I hate the muggy heat in summer and the judgemental looks from other girls if I wear shorts or crop tops.

That is something I won't miss, ever.

So slowly I convinced myself that this move is going to be the best thing to have happened in a long time. I see it as an adventure, and I couldn't be happier.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _Friday 15_ _th_ _August 2014_

The drive from Santa Monica in California to Serenity Falls in Virginia was a hell of a long car trip. I think Mom is thankful I had my license, so we could take turns driving. I can tell she's exhausted underneath her carefully applied makeup, and I try my hardest not to annoy her.

Skylah spends most of the time in the car texting and listening to her iPod. She has made it quite clear that she wasn't happy about this whole thing, and honestly I think Mom and I are both glad that she's staying mute.

At fourteen, she had been the center of a large group of friends and had just discovered that some guys were actually worth the time it took to speak to them. So naturally she wasn't pleased with Mom for moving us on such short notice, or with me for supporting Mom. And self-entitled teenage girls would have to be the worst of the breed.

"We're almost there girls," Mom says to us, turning down yet another road. This one was dirt, and the way the trees seem to press in on us on both sides is a little disconcerting. Our car, Dad's old Chevy, bumps steadily over the grooves in the road, the trailer we're towing rattling loudly and swaying with every turn.

"So what does the house look like?" Sky asks in a bored voice, probably the most she's said since we left Cali. Her fingers are speeding busily over the screen of her iPhone and she barely looks up when Mom replies.

"It's very old, and quite big, and has a wonderful garden. Your grandmother says it hasn't changed one bit since it was built in the early 1900s."

Sky makes a disinterested sound and doesn't say anything else, just to make it quite plain that she isn't impressed.

I don't remember a lot from our time there, only bits and pieces. Mainly just Mom's face and warm embrace.

"Where's the closest town?" I ask, genuinely curious. We had passed plenty of towns in the last few hours, but nothing that seemed to be a desirable shopping destination.

"Well there's Marion that we went through a couple hours ago, where people do their more expensive shopping. Chilhowie is the one we went through about twenty minutes ago and that's where people do the bulk of their shopping."

I think that over. It wasn't going to be easy to go shopping then, unless I borrowed the car.

"What about school?"

Mom glances at me before returning her gaze to the bumpy road. "That's something we still need to discuss." And that was that.

I frown slightly, but she doesn't elaborate, so I let it go.

"And we should be there just about … now," Mom says a few minutes later, navigating the truck and trailer around a wide bend. Suddenly there is a town unfolding around us and I have a hard enough time trying to take everything in at once.

The dirt road had smoothly transitioned into black tar and led us almost directly onto the main street. Small stores sit comfortably behind cute window displays and colorful signs, and I can tell immediately that I was going to love it here. Even Skylah brings herself to look up from her phone.

People on the sidewalks turn to look and I can see some of them smiling. No one looked familiar at all. When a couple wave I'm surprised, but when I see the grin on Mom's face, I know she recognizes them.

We turn down a street about two-thirds the way down the main street, and we were confronted with beautifully crafted homes. They were all fairly timeworn houses and I had the feeling that this was a very old town. Turning onto another street, I felt my jaw drop. To our right was the biggest and most beautiful house I had seen yet, hiding behind wrought-iron gates and green hedges.

I almost squeal in delight when Mom slows to turn into the gateway. Oh my god. _This_ was our house? We used to live _here_?

Obviously having lived in California, I was accustomed to seeing large houses and extravagant mansions, but we had lived in a three bedroom, one bathroom home, and I had been totally fine with that.

With the discovery that we will be living in this architectural masterpiece, my final misgivings about coming here fade away. Don't get me wrong, I'm not materialistic or think myself deserving of the world, but what girl hasn't dreamed about living in something that could only be described as a castle? Especially one with a wrought-iron gate that swings open without even having pressed a button, or with a sweeping circular driveway that takes you up to the front steps, where you can see that green ivy is creeping slowly up the stones of the front walls.

It isn't just me who is awestruck: Sky's even put her phone down. Which believe me, is something not easily accomplished.

"Grab what you can," Mom instructs as she gets out of the car. We do as she bid, collecting our overnight bags and my shoulder bag. I glance up at the front door and see an older looking lady standing there, smiling weakly and holding onto the door frame.

Her dark skin is leathery looking, as though she has spent her whole life outside, but pale like she had recently been ill. Her black hair is tied back in a long braid down her back and her eyes are a blue-green, cluing me in to who she is without the introductions. I have those exact same eyes, and so had my father.

Mom walks up to her with her arms outstretched. "Mother," she says, enveloping our grandmother in a long hug. Sky and I exchange nervous glances. We hadn't seen our father's mother since we had left here when we were younger. She was a total stranger to us and it's beyond odd seeing Mom holding onto her like that.

Finally she pulls away and I'm surprised to see the tears in her eyes before she swipes them away. The woman who is our grandmother stands there watching us and I have no idea what she could possibly be thinking; her face is blank, giving away no emotions. But the hand clutching my mother's arm is tight-gripped and white, and I realized she is just as apprehensive as we are.

I walk up the five steps to the porch, smiling cautiously, and give her a hug. As she hugs me back, a scent like pine needles and vanilla washes over me. She smells like home.

The inside of the house is just as gorgeous as the outside. I have no clue what era the architectural design is from, but it looks stunning regardless. The entry hall was wide and spacious, with minimal furnishings to clutter it. A huge staircase rises to the second story from the left side of the hall, the deep mahogany varnish glistening with the sunlight streaming in from the windows on either side of and above the door.

"The kitchen and dining room are through that door on the right," Mom tells me and Sky as we all stood around in the hall. I feel unbelievably uncomfortable, and I find myself wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole.

Mom and my grandmother give us a tour of the house, and the wistful look on Mom's face pulls at my heartstrings. The last time she was here was just after Dad died, and even though that was a long time ago, I'm sure this place holds a lot of mixed feelings and memories for her.

The house is even bigger than I had originally thought. In addition to the kitchen, there is: a living room, three bedrooms, sun room and library, and two bathrooms all on the main floor. Upstairs was the top half of the library, four bedrooms, two offices, three bathrooms and a small storage room off the second-story landing.

It's hard to imagine myself in this giant's house, but when Mom shows me into what is going to be my room, I freeze in my shoes.

It's absolutely gorgeous. Empty, the furnishings picked clean of any decorations they may have once had, but still gorgeous.

The peach colored walls are probably the best feature in the room, speckled with hints of gold against the sunlight streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling windows stretching across the northern wall. Heavy grey velvet drapes hung at either end, ready to be pulled across when night time came. The oak furniture I'm told was carved by my great-grandfather, and I'm amazed at the intricate detailing on the posters of the bed and the legs of the nightstands and desk. Delicate vintage lace hanging from the rails on the bed gave it a royal feel, further enforcing my princess idea.

There was family history practically seeping from the walls, and I loved it.

The bookshelves on the western wall stretched to the ceiling and were partially-filled with leather-bound volumes and other hardbacks. Examining some, I hadn't heard of any of them and decided to look closer later.

There are a couple of oak and velvet couches in front of the shelves with a matching coffee table set in between them. It looks like the perfect place to sit with a book and a coffee, bathed in the light from the windows.

All of the furniture is larger than you would generally expect, and I get the notion that it is to help fill the huge space.

Looking to my right I'm startled to notice an archway. Walking over to it, my face almost splits in two with the size of my smile as I see that it leads into a walk-in-closet. Shelves and hanging spaces line the walls, with a grey velvet loveseat in the center. An oak vanity table and accompanying mirror sit under the light from a skylight in the ceiling, and I actually wish I was more into makeup just so I had an excuse to use it.

I have only ever seen something this awesome in movies, and even then they weren't done justice. This was officially my favorite place on earth, right here in my closet. Now I just had to find an interest in shopping so that I could fill the empty spaces.

I wander back out through the archway and find Mom standing near the bed, looking around. The expression on her face was hard to read but I thought it might have been almost melancholy.

"And this is the room that I'll be living in?" I ask, just to make doubly sure.

She smiles at me. "Yes. This used to be your father's room when he was alive. When we married I moved in here with him." Her voice cracked a little as she spoke, and I'm surprised to be hearing this. She never speaks about my father.

I look around the room with fresh eyes, trying to imagine the ghost of someone I didn't even know lounging on the couches, writing at the desk, looking out the window. I gave up on that idea quickly.

Mom's voice pulls me out of my sad thoughts. "Have you checked out the bathroom yet?" she asks, nodding towards the corner the bed hid view of.

I frown, confused. I had already seen the bathrooms out in the hall, each at a different corner of the house. I hoped I knew what she meant. I skirt the bed and was rewarded with another door. My heart leaping in my chest with anticipation, I open it quickly and find myself in an adjoining bathroom.

The cream tiles on the floor and halfway up the walls were balanced beautifully by the golden paint coating the rest of the room. High frosted windows let in enough natural light to stop the colors from looking tacky. A small chandelier hung from the ceiling, the crystals causing little rainbows to dance over every surface as they caught the light.

A huge iron-framed mirror hung above the delicate porcelain vanity, reflecting my shocked face in perfect detail. The shower was over-large, big enough to fit at least three people under the shower-head. An ornate free-standing bathtub sat in the corner inside the door, a set of oak shelves built into the wall beside it to house – I'm assuming – body wash and similar bath essentials.

It was totally awesome, but I couldn't help but feel a little incredulous. I had gone from a fairly normal, three-bedroom, one-bathroom house to this… _splendor_. Either I was the luckiest girl on the planet, or this was some cruel cosmic joke and I was just hallucinating this whole thing.

I wander back out into the bedroom. "There's no way all my stuff is even going to _begin_ to fill up this room," I say to Mom, thinking of my meagre two packing boxes on the trailer. The suitcase doubling as an overnight bag was in the hallway, ready to be unpacked.

She laughs softly. "You'll have plenty of time to collect more things, I'm sure," she says, no doubt referencing my habit of going into a store and coming out with an armful of things each time. Thankfully for both my wallet and hers, I knew how to find a good bargain, and clearance racks were the first place I would make a beeline for. When I could actually be bothered with the whole ordeal of shopping, that is.

We walk out into the hall to find Sky just coming out of the bedroom furthest from the stairs. "This is definitely the one," she announces, a rare smile curving her glossy lips. She had had the pick of the other three bedrooms, and had obviously decided which one she wanted. I glance inside the door to find a very similar room to mine, minus the bathroom. She would be right across the hall from one of the bathrooms, though. The doors to the two offices were open, and the view of them empty as I walk passed made me feel strangely sad.

This house felt lonely, and I couldn't help but wonder how different it would be if Dad hadn't died and we had all stayed living here together.

"Time to unload the stuff, girls," Mom says, her forced cheerfulness making me wince internally. We obediently follow her back downstairs and out to the truck, groaning at the sight of the piled-high trailer.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _Monday 18_ _th_ _August 2014_

It's been three days here and I'm already in my 'at home' phase: Elmo pajama pants with matching tank, unbrushed hair and no makeup. Who could be bothered, honestly?

The two moving boxes I had were doing a good job of making it seem as though I had more stuff than I did: clothes and knickknacks spilled over their open sides. Even though it's not that much stuff, just looking at it made me want to run screaming. Not that it will even begin to fill this massive room. I feel like I'm living in a hotel suite. One of those really expensive ones that you can only afford if you were a CEO of your own business, or your daddy was a millionaire.

While I was loving it, I have no idea what Skylah thought of the whole thing seeing as she barely left her room, even for food, but to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if she had a bar fridge in there. I think she had been a bit upset when she realized I got the bigger room, especially when Mom had ignored her protests about how as the oldest I always get the better stuff.

God. It was like she thought I was doing it on purpose just to upset her, the way she was acting.

Whatever. She can sort out her issues and apologize later.

I had been on board with this whole thing, right from the moment Mom told us her decision. So why was I hiding in my bedroom on a beautiful summer's day? Because I couldn't stand pretending like I belonged here, that's why.

Skylah got it so easy because she had been only a baby when we lived here before, but because I had been able to walk and talk I was now clearly expected to remember every damn person who knocked on the door.

My grandmother was quickly becoming my favorite person around here. Between Skylah never surfacing from her room and Mom obsessively unpacking the boxes from our old life, I didn't really have a lot of other choices.

Well, I could do like Mom suggests and actually go outside. But I much preferred just chatting with Grandmama Saraiyu. It's a no-brainer really. It's important that I learn who my family is, seeing as we won't be going anywhere anytime soon. And she was the best person to tell me about our family's history and its role in the town. Not that she'd told me very much so far; she mostly just caught me up on gossip about people I had never met.

There's a knock on my door, lifting me from my dreamy haze. "Yeah?" I call out, and almost giggle when my voice echoes slightly in the massive room.

One side of the double doors (God I love my double doors) opens and Mom sticks her head in. "Hey Serenity, I have something for you to do," she says, and I narrow my eyes at her suspiciously. She looks tired, and vaguely sad. It makes my heart pang.

"What is it?" I ask, wanting to know what I was about to undoubtedly get myself into.

She pushes the door open a little further and looks around the room a bit. She had said this room used to be hers and my father's and I felt uncomfortable, like I was intruding on someone else's memories.

She shook her head a little, as though to bring herself back to the present, and she held a piece of paper out to me. "We need some groceries. Your grandmother is resting and I'm still a little tired from the drive here." She smiles at me apologetically.

I get out of bed and take the paper. There wasn't too much we needed so it would be easy enough to carry back here. From what I could remember when we drove in, the main street wasn't too far from here. "Sure, looks doable." I smile slightly back at her. I hadn't realized before, but we were almost exactly the same height, except I think I was a little taller. That didn't mean a lot though; I was still shorter than most people I knew back home. _Don't think about it, Serenity._

She departed my room and I hoped she was going to go take a nap; I didn't like the look of the wrinkles around her eyes and forehead.

It took me twice the usual amount of time to dress, thanks to my hare-brained attempts at unpacking. I finally found some denim shorts, a bra and a light shirt. I pulled them on quickly enough, ran a brush through my hair, yanked on my canvas tennis shoes, almost fell over doing so, and I was on my way downstairs. I grabbed the cash off the kitchen bench where Mom left it and I was out the door.

It was a pretty nice day outside, and it was even nicer when I was walking through it instead of just gazing out at it through my windows. I found a smaller iron gate a few meters from the big one and it swung open easily enough when I pulled on it.

It was a five minute walk to the main street and every second of those minutes I was fighting to get my heart out of my throat. I was so nervous that someone would stop me in the mile of the street and demand to know what I was doing here. Irrational, I know, but I felt like there was a flashing sign above my head saying 'I don't belong here'. In capital letters. I walked with my head down, only glancing up occasionally to make sure I was headed in the right direction.

Thankfully for my nerves, I didn't see anyone until I stepped onto the main street, where there were suddenly people everywhere.

And, was that a _horse_? Wait there's two of them. I'm even more shocked to see people actually _riding_ those horses. When one of them trotted past me on the road, I couldn't help but stare. I hope my mouth wasn't open. That would have been embarrassing.

"Ahem." I turned my head to see a group of teenagers standing there. Oh no. I hadn't even been here a week and I was already going to die. They all looked _huge_. Like seriously, I'm pretty sure some of them were on steroids, judging from the muscles bulging from under shirts.

Despite my irrational fear, I want to roll my eyes.

"You're new." He says it as a statement, as though the answer was already obvious. It was the dark-haired guy standing at the front of the group. The rest of them seemed to orient themselves around him, which was strange. Before I could say anything an almost quizzical expression crossed his face. "How old are you?"

The enquiry surprised me enough that I didn't even think to not answer. "I'll be seventeen in October. Do I _know_ you?" Why the hell would he even want to know my age?

A hint of a smirk appeared on his face at my attitude. He was really good-looking, but in a natural way that really suited him. He looked about eighteen or nineteen and had a working man's kind of tan. His hair was black, along with the stubble covering the bottom half of his face. My blush deepened as he continued to just watch, although that look on his face remained, the one that suggested he couldn't quite work something out. His bright green eyes were unsettling, and the hidden emotions behind them only managed to make them more captivating.

"That's Luca, ignore his macho guy act, we all try to," a girl standing to his left pipes up, gesturing to Mr. Mysterious-and-Brooding. "I'm Mai." She smiles widely and sticks a hand out towards me. It takes me a second to realize she wanted me to shake it. I do so, albeit nervously.

She's really pretty, with masses of curly ebony hair all over the place. When I let go, a guy next to Mai elbows her, laughing. She returns the favor, much harder, and laughs at him when he pretends to grab at his side in pain.

When he straightens up, he's grinning like a fool, his light brown eyes twinkling. "This is my cousin Jesse," Mai gestures to him. "He's a total douche. This is Kailya," she points at a bored-looking girl with strawberry blonde hair standing towards the back, "she acts like a bitch but she's a complete sweetheart on the inside. Even if she likes to beat people up when they blow her cover. And that is Avery," a hand waved towards a black-haired guy who was – if possible – even taller than Luca. "He's in love with himself, so don't waste your time going there." Mai pouts and I almost laugh.

Out of all of them, she definitely seemed the most approachable. Even if her legs could make a supermodel feel insecure.

"You're the Oaken girl," Luca says unexpectedly, a suddenly understanding look on his face, as though he had just figured out some great riddle. And again with the statements that should be questions!

Everyone looks from him to me, their faces filled with interest, except for the bored-looking girl who just regards me impassively. Did it even occur to them that I might be someone else? What makes it so obvious?

Sure, my name _is_ Serenity Oaken, but still.

"Oh, of course! We saw you drive past the other day," Mai says. "Serenity, right? How are you settling in?" She seems so genuinely interested in how I'm doing that I feel a little more comfortable.

"Pretty well, I guess. I'm actually on my way to get some groceries for the house." I hold up the shopping list for evidence. Mai's face lights up like it's Christmas and I know what's coming. I had seen that look on way too many of Sky's friend's faces.

"I'll totally show you where the store is," she says, and I could see everyone in her group roll their eyes. So this must be a fairly regular thing, judging from that reaction.

"Must you continuously take in strays, Mai?" Jesse drawls, that twinkle in his eyes as he winked at me. Yes, an actual _wink_. Who even does that?

Mai rolls her eyes. "Shut up, Jesse. Just because you're an asshole doesn't mean I have to be." She grabs my hand and starts to pull me down the street. I glance at Luca quickly and see he is in deep conversation with – what was his name? – Avery. He didn't even look at me before I'm swept away.

Two minutes later we're in the air conditioned comfort of the grocery store. It is quite a bit larger than it looks from the outside and I'm glad. They might actually have some of the stuff we need.

"You'll have to buy your bread from Aunt Faye's bakery across the street, but other than that everything's here," Mai said, throwing her arms open as if to envelop the whole store.

I laugh at her dramatics and grab a basket.

She was surprisingly helpful with the shopping. I had expected her to just float around beside me chatting about a million and one things I didn't know about. Well, she still did do that, but only while helping me find the cereal aisle and sandwich stuff, so that's okay.

I couldn't help but be a little jealous of her. She skipped around with much more elegance than what her bubbly personality called for, and her curly ebony hair bounced down her back like it was in a shampoo commercial. Her denim shorts made her legs look supermodel long and the cropped shirt she wore showed off her trim waist and pierced belly button. The dangling ring kept catching the light and distracting me whenever she turned. Which was often.

So yeah, she was beautiful. But I was finding it extremely difficult to hate her for it; if any person deserved such beauty, it was her. She radiated kindness and generosity.

I really hope we could be friends.

"There are a few more of us that you didn't see today," Mai was saying as we walked out of the grocers and towards the bakery. "I think they were out at the stables. But I just know they'll love you." Stables? I remembered the horses I saw earlier. Why am I not surprised?

"I'm sure I'll get to meet them eventually. I'm going to be a permanent fixture here soon enough," I tried to joke. It's been a while since I had a friend, especially one so interested in my life. So naturally my joking skills are a bit rusty. Mai takes pity on me and smiles kindly as she pushes open the bakery door.

The smell of warm baked items and icing sugar assaulted my nose the moment I walked in. I think I was in heaven.

"Mai, my baby! How's your mama doing?" A big dark-skinned woman came out from behind the counter and wrapped Mai in a huge hug. I almost expected my new friend to push the woman away in embarrassment, but she hugged her back with just as much enthusiasm.

"Hey Auntie Faye. Mama's good, she's making jams tomorrow and wants you to come by and help." She smiles fondly up at the woman and I feel awkward witnessing such a loving moment.

"Tell her I'll be around tomorrow morning with some of my scones. I'll have to get Stephan to take over here." She pats Maiara's cheek gently. Then she looks up and spots me. I feel frozen to the spot and unable to move under that intense gaze.

"Auntie, this is Serenity Oaken. She's getting some bread for her mom," Mai introduces me, smiling to herself for some reason I couldn't fathom.

"Of course," Faye murmurs. Then she seemed to shake herself. "My apologies, sweetheart. You just look so much like your dear father it took me by surprise. I'm Faye Lujan, the beloved baker of bread and cakes alike." Mai giggled behind her hand at that, so I decided it was safe enough to smile.

"It's nice to meet you," I reply, hoping that was an acceptable response, and shaking the woman's outstretched hand. So is this where Mai got it from? None of the others had bothered with a handshake.

"So what kind of bread do you need?" Faye asks, bustling back behind the counter, business-like once again.

"Um," I glance towards Mai and back, "wholemeal or rye would be good."

The woman deftly locates a couple loaves and places them in brown paper bags. I feel my heart swell when Faye slipped in an apple Danish.

"It's all free of charge, sweets. Welcome to Serenity Falls." She says as I pull out my purse and smiles kindly at my surprised expression, handing over the paper bags.

"Thank you," I say, my throat constricting weirdly as I follow Mai out onto the street once again.

"Do you want something cold to drink?" She asks, eying the grocers we were in before.

"That'd be great," I say and before I could even offer her any money she was off across the street.

I smile to myself and glance around for a seat. There was one a few meters away so I plop the grocery bags down on it and put the bread in one of the emptier ones. When I look up again Mai was back, holding up two cans of Coke and grinning.

I laugh and take one, thanking her.

"So I was thinking … you should totally come hang out with us tonight," she said, looking uncertain. "It would be awesome for you to meet everyone else."

"Mai!" We both look behind us to see Luca, Jesse and Avery. Mai blushed. I don't understand why she was blushing, or why Luca was giving her such an intense look. Or where Kailya had disappeared to in the last twenty minutes.

"What?" She asks defiantly. "She should come with us. It won't be long anyway before-"

"Seriously, Mai!" Jesse cut her off, glancing at Luca. I'm beyond confused. What don't they want Mai telling me?

"Sorry, but you can't come with us," Avery says bluntly. The harshness of his words is lessened slightly by his lilting and musical voice, but the look in his eyes is frightening. I see it mirrored in Luca and Jesse while the three of them just stare at me, with Mai staring at a point in the distance over my shoulder.

Okay so this was how it was going to be. Mai wants me to join them but these three were too set in their ways to let someone else in. I get it.

I pick up the shopping bags. "That's okay, I've got stuff to do," I say and brush past them, my shoulder bumping Luca out of the way, and the can of Coke now a heavy weight in my hand.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _Monday 18_ _th_ _August 2014_

I manage to walk home without anyone else deciding to be my friend then ditching me when their bullies of friends say so. So it's pretty safe to say I'm not in the best mood when I walk into the kitchen. Grandma Saraiyu is sitting at the island counter, sipping on a cup of coffee and inspecting a banana.

She looks up when I walk in and I can tell when she realizes I'm in a bad mood because her eye brows lift in surprise. "Who's been tugging on your bridle?"

I'm not entirely sure what that means; just that it has something to do with horses and I'm not in the mood for a lesson. "Just some girl I met down the street. Well, it was her guy friends, actually, who were doing all the tugging." I set about unpacking the shopping bags and putting everything away.

"Ah, so you've met Luca Hale and Maiara Hughes. Who else was there? Jesse Rivers I bet, he's always following Luca around." I stare at her in surprise. How on earth she knew who I was talking about I have no idea.

"Yeah, them and two others. Avery and … Kailya I think her name was." I found the pastry Faye had slipped into the bread bag. It looks mouth-wateringly tempting so I stick it on a plate, crack the can of Coke and pour it into a tall glass with some ice cubes.

"Avery Williams and Kailya Steele," Saraiyu clarifies, nodding. Settling into the bar stool next to her, I place the plate on the counter between us, indicating for her to share it with me. "I see you've also met my little sister Faye then," she said, tearing the pastry in half and making quick work of her piece. "Mmm. I do love her baking. If only I had gotten those genes, instead of a knack with horses." I almost choke on a mouthful of apple and pastry. I was related to the woman who gave me the free bread?

"Faye's your sister? So that means she's my great-aunt? But Mai was saying she was her Aunt. Am I related to Mai, too?" I'm not sure if that would be a good thing or not.

Saraiyu laughs and pats me on the hand gently. "No child, you're not related to Maiara. Not closely anyway. Faye and her mother have been best friends since we were all children. So naturally she was there when Mai was born, and there through all her life, so I guess she's an honorary aunt."

I nod thoughtfully. "I just don't get it. Mai helped me with the shopping and stuff and she was being so nice. But then as soon as she tried inviting me out with them to some party, Luca and the other guys showed up and totally shut her down." I take a large gulp of my drink to try to avoid looking at Saraiyu. I don't want her to see how much it annoyed me that someone would do that. I mean, they were basically bullying her right in front of me.

"That's just them," she says, standing up to put the plate and her mug in the dishwasher. "They have their own ways of doing things, since they've known each other since they were children. It's hard for them to welcome change." She purses her lips and I can't help but think there is more to this than what she's telling me. I decide to just let it go; it had been too weird of a day already.

"I'm gonna let Mom know I got the stuff she wanted." I smile at my grandmother and wander down the hall to Mom's room. She and Saraiyu both have rooms downstairs while Sky and I sleep upstairs.

Her door was open and I could faintly hear the sounds of shuffling inside. When I poke my head in I see that she's struggling to drag a box over to the bookshelf. No doubt that was her collection of books, the ones she wouldn't even let me read.

"Hey," she calls out as she spots me in the doorway. I watch as she straightens and brushes her pale blonde hair out of her face, breathing heavily. She seems better than she had before I left.

"I got the stuff you wanted. I'm assuming we're having vegetarian lasagna for dinner? Lasagna sheets were one of the things you wrote on the list so it's a fair guess." I lean against the oak doorframe, watching as she begins to stack the heavy books in the gaps between other volumes on the shelves.

"Yeah. Hey, I need to talk to you about something." She almost looks nervous, uncertain maybe. But surely it's just because she's tired; my mother was never nervous about anything.

"Sure, what's the problem?" I mean, there had to be a problem right? No mother with two teenage daughters looked this worried without a damn good reason.

"Your grandmother reminded me about something this morning that I had forgotten about in our haste to get here." She pauses. My brow furrowed slightly. What the hell was she trying to spit out? "You see, there's a … special high school that teenagers from around here attend."

"Okay…?" I was still not getting it.

"Well, I guess you could call it a boarding school, seeing as it's quite a few hours from here, which means that you will be staying on-campus while the school semester is underway."

I blink. Oh. So now, three days after moving across the damn country, I was being sent to a freaking _boarding school_? A red-tinged haze swims behind my eyes, but I quickly blink it away. _Get your shit together, Serenity._

"So when do I have to leave?" Thankfully, my voice doesn't betray the anger that has blossomed behind my breast-bone.

Mom looks even more uncertain, as if she doesn't fully believe what I was saying. "The bus leaves in two weeks. I believe there are quite a few kids from here who will be joining you. That could be fun."

I think of Luca and his group of weird-ass friends. Fought the urge to roll my eyes. Mai's sweet smile as she offered me the can of Coke brings me up short. Yeah sure I want to be friends with her, but I'm not sure Luca would like that too much.

"So I guess there's no need for me to really unpack?" I ask, smiling as I say it in an effort to override the sullen tone in my voice.

Mom is relieved. I can see it in the way tension leaks out of her shoulders. She reaches behind her and brings forth a thick parchment envelope.

 _So this is my very own Hogwarts letter, huh?_ I think wryly as I take it from her.

"I know it means we won't be able to celebrate your birthday properly, but I thought we could do something as a mixed birthday and going away party." The hopeful smile she gave me was enough to make me want to agree with anything, just so I won't hurt her feelings.

After a forced hug – I'm not feeling very affectionate right now – I retreat upstairs to my bedroom. Before I have the chance to shut my door, Sky's hand shoots out and grabs it.

I just about have a heart attack. "Jesus, Sky, what the hell are you trying to do?"

She glares up at me. "Don't play dumb! I heard what mom was telling you, and I've already looked in the envelope. I found it in mom's handbag when I was looking for a pen. What kind of dumb name is Heathstone Academy for a school anyway?"

"Ugh. Get out would you? I need _privacy_." I push Sky's hand out of the way and firmly shut the door. I hear her huff of annoyance and retreating footsteps as I slide slowly to the floor and open the envelope.

 _Miss Serenity Oaken,_

 _It has come to our attention that you have recently relocated to Serenity Falls on a permanent basis. Due to your family's particular lineage and standing, you have been reserved a place at our most precious Heathstone Academy. As such, you will be joining the rest of the Serenity Falls students on the 31_ _st_ _of August for the journey here._

 _We trust that your mother and grandmother have filled you in on everything you need to know before attending._

 _Included in this envelope are your timetable, list of required equipment and a general pamphlet about the school and its grounds._

 _Looking forward to meeting you,_

 _Tatiana Hennington_

 _Headmistress of Heathstone Academy_

It was signed with a flourish, and written in what looked suspiciously like real black ink. I frown. Well this posed more questions than what it answered.

I spend the rest of the afternoon in my room, trying to work out what to unpack or not, every now and then taking a break to read over my letter again. I was beginning to feel claustrophobic, even in this huge room.

I could barely keep still through dinner, hardly even tasting the steaming food. I excuse myself as soon as I can, made up some rubbish about being exhausted, having a headache and going to bed early.

Changing quickly, I turn the lights off for good measure, and am thankful I had when I hear soft footsteps outside my door. Probably Mom checking on me. Once I'm sure no one would be bothering me, I slip out of my room, cross the hall quickly and duck into the library.

It was a massive two-story affair, complete with oak banisters and matching-backed sofas scattered around the place. I'm standing on the balcony that made up the second floor, circling the great empty space above the floor below.

As quietly as I can, I pad down the circular, twisting staircase hidden in one corner. At the base of the steps, I pause again, making sure I can hear no noises from the hall outside.

 _Thank God I'm such a trustful child._ I almost snort at my own joke as I unlatch the glass French doors and escape into the darkness at the back of the house.

I had never ever dared to do this in California, and normally I wouldn't just go wandering around in the dark anyway, but I just feel so cooped up inside. I need the fresh air; the _freedom_.

I slip out of a side gate that I hadn't realized existed until I literally stumbled across the weeds growing in front of it. Thank goodness there's plenty of light from the full moon; otherwise I probably would have never seen it. I don't even really know where I was going after that. I kind of just _walked_.

The streets are quiet, but not in that creepy way that makes it feel like you're in a horror movie. It was a soft silence, like goose down, muffling the normal sounds of a town at rest. It's not very late, and there are plenty of house windows still lit, but there isn't that big-city noise I had grown used to in California. The change is nice and long over-due.

The atmosphere begins to change when I found myself wandering down Blue Moon Lane – who the hell named these streets? – And I feel the first tinge of uneasiness. Houses are on one side of me, while open forest stands on the other. I shiver, realizing for the first time that I'm only wearing shorts and a shirt, no jacket or anything. I'm vaguely surprised I'm even wearing shoes – yeah, I checked.

Then the hair on my arms stands straight up and I just _know_ I'm being watched. I scan the darkness surrounding me, trying to work out where they – or it – is watching me from. My eyes fix on a dark patch of trees directly ahead of me. I begin to back away slowly. A large pair of bright green eyes blink into existence right where I was staring.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 _Monday 18_ _th_ _August 2014_

My mouth falls open. I have no idea if I had been planning on screaming or not when I'm further thrown off balance.

"Serenity?" Mai's honey-sweet voice drifts through the quiet. A random image of leaves floating slowly down to a moss covered forest floor flashes through my head. I stare at her, glance back at the eyes and frown when all I can see is darkness. I search the empty space, but there isn't a hint of luminescent green anywhere.

Mai tries again. "Serenity, what are you doing out here?" She sounds worried, and I don't blame her: I probably look half-mad right now.

"Uh, nothing. I was just going for a walk and I thought I saw …" I stop. Her eyebrows rise. "Never mind, I must have just been seeing things."

Her eyes flash to the patch I had been staring at so intently and they narrow slightly. "Yes, well. Why don't you have a jacket? You must be cold." I shiver suddenly, as if just remembering that yes, in fact, I am cold.

"She can borrow mine." I jump as the deep voice comes from behind me. I spin around, only to be greeted by a tall, muscular person with flaming green eyes and a seriously cocky smirk. My heart stutters to a stop. Luca. Man, what was he going to say to me now? I shouldn't be wandering around by myself in his town? That there were plenty of things that could befall a young girl all on her own?

Mai echoes my thoughts from behind me. "Don't you go saying anything you'll regret, Luca Hale," she warns.

Luca just rolls his eyes, shucks his jacket, and offers it to me with another of his annoying smirks. I hesitate just long enough for him to raise an eyebrow before the shivering wins out and I accept the damn jacket. I pull it on, embarrassed because Luca seems to find this highly amusing, watching my every movement.

A warm, musky smell overwhelms me. It reminds me of summer rain as it settles into freshly-turned soil, with a sandalwood undertone. I bite the inside of my lip, aware that the boy whose interesting scent I smell is still staring at me intently.

"Thanks," I mutter, and I have the distinct impression that he is retraining himself from asking me to repeat myself. How considerate of him. I turn to Mai, every one of my five senses highly attuned to the warm heat that is beside me.

 _God, get yourself together!_ Why on earth am I behaving like this? Sure Luca is attractive – unearthly so – but I seriously need to stop with the skittish behavior. Jumping every time he spoke to me isn't exactly the most endearing habit. Mai is glaring at Luca, and I have no doubt that he is just smirking at her. I can just about feel the arrogance bouncing off the back of my head.

I feel a wave of awkwardness wash over me, as though I just interrupted something private.

"Well, looks like I am sufficiently clothed now, so I'll just leave you guys to what you were doing and be on my way." I try my best to sound cheerful, I really do. Judging by the rueful smile on Mai's face, I think I just come off sounding like I'm high on something.

"Don't be silly. You're here now, so you may as well join us," she says, her eyes flashing up to above my head, a vein of steel hardening her gaze. I assume that she and Luca are having one of those silent conversations that only people who have known each other for a long time can successfully pull off.

Luca sighs behind me, and just like that the argument is won. I shiver again as his breath blows against the back of my head. God what is going on with me?

"I'll go ahead and let the others know," Mai says. With a final commanding glare at the air over my head, she steps into the shadow of the trees and disappears.

That leaves me alone with Luca. Just my luck.

"The others? What did she mean?" I do my best to avoid looking at him as I ask. He begins walking in the direction Mai went and I assume I'm allowed to follow. I do so, almost trotting to keep up with his long stride.

Luca glances back at me and I get the strange impression that he is sizing me up in that one look. He shrugs and steps behind the tree line.

I want to stop so badly and just review how damn creepy this night was becoming, but I'm well and truly hooked. My curiosity is not going to allow me to back out of this now. I just hope I'm not about to get myself killed. Swallowing my fear, I tentatively follow Luca into the darkness.

"She meant the other people in our… group." Luca clarifies, but doesn't elaborate further.

I wait a second to see if he is just pausing for dramatic effect, realize he isn't going to say anything else, and say the stupidest thing I possibly can.

"So, it's not a cult you guys are in, is it? I mean, I'm into trying new things, but I have to draw the line somewhere." I mentally smack myself in the forehead. Here I am, in the middle of the night, following a guy I just met into the woods alone. And now I'm asking if he's in a cult? I need to work out where exactly I _do_ draw the line.

Luca raises his eyebrows at me. Is that _amusement_ I can see on his face? No, it can't be.

Oh but it is. "Depends if that's the kind of thing you're into," he says, facing forwards again, but I swear I heard that damn smirk in his voice.

I'm confused for a moment. Then it dawns on me that what he just said could very well be mistaken for flirting. At the very least, a… sexual reference of some kind. As I'm mulling over the implications, I almost run into his back.

Bringing myself up short before there is a very awkward (on my behalf) collision, I peer around his rather broad back and realize that he had stopped for a reason.

We are standing at the edge of a small clearing. Ahead of us is a cluster of tree trunks, laid on their sides and dragged into a crude circle. Perched on these and standing nearby is a whole freakin' crowd of people. Gulping, I try to reassure myself that some of these people I know (barely), but nevertheless I feel a steady tremor start up my spine.

This is totally out of my comfort zone and when Luca steps forward and away from me, I feel the loss of his body warmth like a jolt.

"I think some introductions are in order," Mai announces, and I watch as she moves into the space between me and the rest of the group. "Everyone, this is Serenity Oaken, and she will be joining us from now on." She pauses, looking around as though she expects someone to say something, and when no one does, she narrows her eyes at Luca.

In the process of pouring himself a drink from a bottle on the ground, he rolls his eyes at Mai, but straightens up and turns to the group anyway. Something changes subtly then. He appears to grow taller slightly, and there is a commanding air about him that although it feels natural, seems almost forced.

While I had been watching Luca with fascination, someone had approached me without my realizing.

"Hi, I'm Cloud," a soft, melodic but masculine voice speaks from beside me. I jump, startled and more than a little embarrassed. The speaker is a boy who looks to be about a year older than me, and the only word that I can think of to describe him is beautiful.

His shaggy platinum blond hair falls to his shoulders and from the way it also fell into his eyes I get the impression that he has a lot of trouble taming it. Unreadable moss green eyes and unsmiling but slightly plump lips overall help emphasize the serious expression he wears.

I feel my heart tap dance an irregular beat for a moment, and I curse myself for reacting like that. What is it about these guys that makes me feel like this?

"Um hi," I murmur shyly, hoping my blush wouldn't be noticeable in the dark. A slow smile spreads across his face and a slight quaver runs down my spine. I could have kicked myself for my reaction.

"Did you want a drink?" He holds out a plastic cup to me, which I accept gladly, if only to try to fit in better. Peering into the cup, I try to think of what it could possibly be with my meagre knowledge of alcoholic drinks. "It's just soft drink, but I think Victorie may have spiked the bottle with some vodka," Cloud offers helpfully. I can't be sure, but I think his smile was slightly bigger than it had been a moment ago.

"Thanks," I say, feeling myself drawn to him strangely. I need a distraction.

Bracing myself, and hoping I'm not making a terrible mistake, I take a tentative sip. Finding that the taste of alcohol is basically non-existent and the soft drink is quite refreshing, I quickly finish off the contents. Glancing up at Cloud, my blush deepens when I realize he's observing me closely, an odd look on his face.

"What?" I ask, somewhat defensively.

Before he has the chance to answer, another distinctly male voice speaks from behind me. "Keeping the new girl all to yourself are you, Cloud? Nice to see that his Royal Highness offered our new friend a drink, though." The tone is light and mocking, but from the way Cloud's face completely closes off, it's clear this other person's comments are far from welcome.

I turn around and come face-to-chest with another abnormally tall and muscled male specimen. "And you are?" Try as I might, I can't stop the words as they slip out of my mouth. This guy's attitude is really getting under my skin, and apparently with the meagre amount of alcohol in my stomach, my mouth is taking liberties.

Whether he is truly surprised or not will forever be a mystery, because he immediately takes to sarcasm. "My, oh my! The little one has an attitude, doesn't she? Come on, Cloud, ain't ya going to do the introductorys?" When no answer comes from behind me, the guy continues as though Cloud hadn't just totally blown him off. "I'm Mason Black. Motorbike enthusiast and lover of potato chips." Just to top it off, he finishes with an exaggerated and sweeping bow to me, as though I'm some princess.

"Uh, hi." I say, thrown totally off guard. This guy has to be a joke, surely.

"Seriously, Mason?" A girl's musical voice comes from a slim, tall and very beautiful blonde who had just walked over. I'm momentarily disorientated by her bright outfit – hot pink shorts and matching zip-up hoodie with pink sneakers – but quickly close my mouth when I notice her glaring at me. "I leave you alone for five minutes and you're already over here flirting with… her."

I'm shocked by the hostility in her voice. I don't even know this girl!

"Babe, I was just being friendly, you know that," Mason's voice turns almost child-like, as though he was in time out for something he didn't do. The blonde doesn't reply, just shoots each of us a look of contempt, and stomps off, Mason trailing after her.

"That was Victorie Rhodes, resident drama queen." I jump slightly, having almost forgotten that Cloud was there in the midst of the spectacle.

"Does this happen a lot?" I ask, looking back at him. I feel a thrill go through me when I notice he's a lot closer than he had been before.

"You have no idea." Is his rather cryptic reply. This group of people was becoming more and more interesting by the minute.

"Serenity!" Mai calls to get my attention as she pushes past a couple people to get to where we are standing. "I thought you could do with a drink, but I see that Cloud already handled that duty." She laughs, and again I feel more than a little jealous. She seems so comfortable here, and here was me standing in the shadows with a guy I barely know because he's the only one talking to me.

"I think she could do with a refill, though," Cloud interjects. "She's already been subject to Mason and Victorie drama." He adds with an eye roll.

"Seriously?" For the most part, Mai doesn't really seem that surprised, backing up what Cloud said earlier about it happening a lot. "Well anyway, I'll introduce everyone else to you."

I have time to say a quick "bye" to Cloud before Mai drags me off to meet everyone else.

All up, there are about ten people here, including me. Most people I had met already, but I was re-introduced to Jesse, Avery and Kailya, along with another girl, Reina Hart. She's the most quiet I had seen so far aside from Cloud, and it's a nice change.

An hour later and I'm feeling less like an outsider and more as an acquaintance to everyone. Well, almost everyone. Victorie is definitely not a fan, and although he isn't outright rude, Avery does make sure to keep his distance.

"Hey, I'm headed home, you want to walk with me?" I'm somewhat surprised by Mai's question: I had been under the impression that she wouldn't be one of the first to leave the party.

I glance around, a part of me longing to stay and further become part of this seemingly tight-knit group of friends, but at the same time, I get the feeling that everyone is becoming a little tense. It felt like it was time to leave.

"Okay, I'll just give Luca his jacket back –"

"Don't worry, he won't miss it. There'll be plenty of chances to give it back to him later on," Mai says, tugging me towards the trees in the direction of home. I get the distinct impression that she's nervous to get me away from here as quickly as possible.

With a last longing look at everyone, I give in and allow myself to be dragged away.

After a few minutes of silence, I can't keep it to myself any longer. "Why were you in such a hurry to get me out of there?" I ask, trying not to make it sound like I was interrogating her.

Mai seems to brace herself. "They tend to get a bit… enthusiastic, on nights like this, and it always weirds me out. I thought it might be a bit too soon for you to see." As I watch, I visibly see her brighten up, as if to lighten the seriousness. "I mean, we don't want to scare you away already when you're just getting to know everyone."

We leave the darkness of the trees while I'm lost in thought. "Is it some big secret that I'm not supposed to know because I'm an outsider?"

"You're no outsider, Serenity. Your family has been a huge part of this town's traditions and history since it was first established. And you will know every tradition we hold so dear soon enough, Luca just thought we should give it a little time." Before I can even begin to start thinking through that particular conundrum, she continues, "Not that we have a lot more time, what with school starting soon and everything." And then, as we near the street my house is on, "Hope you enjoyed yourself! I'll see you soon!" And she's off down another street.

Standing there, alone in the shadows created by the streetlights, I stare after her, shocked at the sudden one-eighty. From not-so-far-away I hear a wolf howl, followed by a second and a third. I don't need anyone to spell it out for me to start running the rest of the way home.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 _Tuesday 19_ _th_ _August 2014_

The next day dawns overcast and dreary. I lay in bed for a while, staring out at the grey sky. I can't help but feel conflicted over the events from the night before. It seems as though every time I feel like I'm becoming closer to Mai and her strange group of friends, a huge iron wall slams down and separates me from them again.

I finally drag myself out of bed and stand in front of my mirror. Remembering how Mai had looked the first time we met, I lift my shirt up slightly so my stomach is showing. My belly button is pierced (thanks to my birthday last year when Mom thought it would make her seem like a cooler parent) but I have none of the qualities that make Mai look like a supermodel.

My legs are long, sure, but they always seem more prone to tripping me over than walking down a runway. My stomach is pretty toned, thanks to the volleyball I played at my school in Cali, but it isn't as tan and bikini-ready as Mai's, and I always have this idea that my navel was a weird shape, and hate exposing it. My breasts are bigger than hers by a cup or two, but they are more of a pain than they're worth, so I do my best to ignore them.

Sighing, I let my shirt fall back down and try my best to rummage for some clothes that make me feel somewhat happy with my body. Denim shorts and a loose white shirt, blue Converse sneakers are to be the order of the day. Not even bothering with my hair, I trod downstairs to scavenge for something to eat.

The house is quiet, Mom and Sky having gone out to shop, no doubt, and Saraiyu doing whatever it is she usually does on a weekday. Even though it isn't lunch time yet, a sandwich sounds really good.

I set about slicing leftover roast chicken, humming to myself as I work.

 _Shit!_

The knife slips and slices into my hand.

I drop it like a brick and grab my bleeding hand to try to stem the crimson flow. There's blood dripping to the floor and I grit my teeth. Even just the idea of looking at the cut makes me feel queasy.

 _I guess this is what I get for sneaking out of the house to hang out with a bunch of teenagers I don't even know,_ I think grumpily. I'm glad Mom isn't here to see; she always freaks out whenever Sky or I hurt ourselves. I used to call her crazy overprotective because of it.

Grabbing a wad of paper towel, I mop up as much of the blood as I can. The sharp tang of iron and rust is filling my nostrils, making me vaguely nauseous. Turning the kitchen faucet on low, I brace myself and hold my hand underneath the soothing stream.

Once all the blood is gone, I force myself to examine the wound closer. What I see totally stops me in my tracks.

On the palm of my hand, where I could have sworn I would need at least ten stitches to close the cut, there is nothing more than a scratch. Saraiyu's cat could have done it, for how deep it is.

Gaping from the scratch to the sodden lump of bloody paper towels and back, I can't believe what I'm seeing. How could it even be possible for such a small cut to produce so much blood? _Maybe my blood is just really thin and it just seems like it's a lot that comes out,_ I muse. I could have laughed at myself. While the theory sounds weak at best, there's no point worrying over something that surely has a reasonable cause.

No longer hungry, I clean up the kitchen and write a quick note to whoever came home first. I need some serious fresh air.

I make a quick and somewhat bold decision, then run upstairs to grab a couple things.

Halfway down the paved footpath in the front yard, I run into Saraiyu.

"Serenity! Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

After a quick explanation, some detailed directions and a crudely drawn map on a napkin, I'm on my way to the Hale household. I have no idea what exactly I was thinking, but it feels like the right thing to do.

I hug Luca's jacket to my chest as I walk, reliving the sweet moment when he had given it to me and I was enveloped by his warmth and scent. I blush, embarrassed. I barely knew the guy and here I was snuggling up to his jacket.

I kick away the part of my brain that's telling me to put it on just one last time.

The Serenity Falls township doesn't really have a lot in the way of houses or streets, which made my job a lot easier.

As I get closer I begin second-guessing my rash decision. What if he isn't even home? What if for some weird reason the last few days had been a dream and he didn't even know who I am? A million thoughts race through my mind, each one more ridiculous than the last.

Approaching what seems to be the right house – white fence, blue mailbox, five different cars parked in and out of the yard, house just about as big and awesome-looking as mine – the butterflies in my stomach kick into overdrive.

Probably because I'm so nervous, it takes me a few moments after I open the gate to notice the trail of blood splattered along the pathway leading up to the front door.

Even as my heartbeat picks up the pace, my mind is telling me that there had to be a good explanation for it. Maybe someone just hurt themselves and hadn't had a chance to clean it up yet? Maybe it was just red paint and the tin was leaking?

Cautiously I approach the front door, being careful not to step on any of the crimson splotches. Between this and my perhaps-imagined accident earlier, this was the most blood I had ever seen in my life.

Seeing that the front door had been left ajar, I gulp. I'm not a fan of horror movies, but I'm pretty sure that the scene I'm standing in was the beginning of one. Stifling my reluctance as best as I can, I approach the door and listen carefully for any noise whatsoever.

Realising that I'd best not just wander into someone's house uninvited, blood or no, I call out Luca's name. Not hearing a response, I venture further into the house. I can't help but gasp as I see more blood, some of it smeared as though something had been dragged through it.

I begin to panic, the smell of the blood overwhelming my senses. Just as I'm about to leave, screaming, I hear what sounds like muffled voices coming from deeper in the house. Pulling Luca's jacket on – just in case I needed both hands to fight my way out – I dodge the blood and continue down the hall. Passing three doors, each as quiet as the last, I follow my ears.

If this house was similar to mine, then I was headed towards the kitchen, and I was hoping so hard that all I would find is Luca and Avery talking, maybe with Jesse or Mason hanging out with them. Maybe they were all baking cookies.

Taking a deep breath as I reach the kitchen door, I almost gag at the smell of the blood and something distinctly dead. The voices are a little louder, paired with something that sounds a lot like a knife going through meat. Pulling every tiny piece of courage into me, I push open the door.

Well, they were definitely _not_ baking cookies.

A huge deer had been pulled onto the island bench, where Luca and Mason stood, skinning and gutting it. Jesse and Avery were acting as assistants, grabbing whatever they needed so they didn't have to slow down.

Luca is the first one to notice me. At first his face is blank, and with a streak of blood across one cheek he looks positively menacing. Then a slow grin grows on his face, and my insides tighten deliciously.

 _What the hell is going on with me?_ I wonder, flushing bright red under his heated gaze.

"Why, if it isn't the Princess. Would you like to join us?" Everyone turns to stare at me, their surprised looks almost comical.

"Oh leave her alone, Luca." Cloud appears in front of me. I hadn't even noticed him here. He was spotless, which in the cream sweater he's wearing, was nothing short of incredible. His hair is in his eyes, like usual, and I fight the weird urge to brush it aside. He had the coolest shade of moss green eyes, and it's a pity you can't see them most of the time.

He begins to usher me back the way I came, and I glance back at Luca. He winks at me, then gets back to work. Who would have thought that a one-eyed blink could send me reeling?

"What are they doing?" I ask, half-concerned that it's not even legal.

"They were out hunting early this morning, caught a nice buck. Jesse got a little careless and didn't wrap it right." He wrinkles his nose at the blood-splattered floor. I hide a smile. I get the impression that Cloud isn't a fan of his brother's hobbies.

"So you didn't go with them?" I ask it, hoping to get some more information from him.

He glances down at me. I can't read his expression, but I'm beginning to get used to it with these people: they sure liked to hide their feelings. I feel like an open book compared to them. "It's not really my thing." He pauses, seeming to evaluate something in my face. "I prefer books."

I'm pleasantly surprised. "Me too. Although I've never really hunted to find out if that's my thing or not."

He seems to find this funny, a smile gracing his delicate mouth. "I have a feeling you'll find out soon enough."

What's that supposed to mean? I stand there staring at him, not really knowing what to say next.

He seems to take pity on me. "Did you wanna hang out for a while? I'm assuming you came here for a reason." He looks at me expectantly.

Who would have thought that eight little words would have my mind in such an uproar. Wow. Late-night parties in the woods and now cute boys asking me to hang out with them. When the hell did I get so lucky?

"Sure," I say, smiling shyly up at him.

Cloud leads me to a room that turns out to be some kind of den. Game consoles and the corresponding video games clutter the TV cabinet, on which is perched one of the biggest televisions I have ever seen outside of an electronics store. One wall is covered in bookshelves, similar to how my room at home is, and like mine, these are full of books. Some of the spines are leather and old, which has me itching to go examine them.

A couple of huge soft leather couches are positioned in front of the TV, scattered all over with magazines and clothes. It's only once I spot a huge four-poster that I realize this must be Cloud's bedroom.

 _Holy shit_.

Something on a wall catches my eye. It's a long, ivory colored object placed horizontally on a wall bracket, with a smaller matching one underneath it.

"Those are called _katanas_. Luca bought them for me a couple years back from some trader who came to town. Cool, huh?" Cloud flops down onto one of the couches, peering up at me through his hair.

"Definitely cool," I murmur. I make a mental note to Google them later.

I move on to inspecting his book collection. There are a lot that I have never heard of before, but I'm not surprised: he was obviously going to like different genres than I did.

It's the leather-bound ones I'm interested in. I had seen some like them in the library at home, but hadn't had much of a chance to look at them without Mom around. She always started squawking as soon as I so much as looked at them.

"What are these?" I ask over my shoulder. I don't want to pick them up in case they're fragile.

"Oh, those. They're a record of the town's history and some journal entries from Aves Hale." He sounds almost bored, as though they aren't anything new to him.

"Who?" I ask. I note the same last name, but had never heard of him before.

"Wow, you really don't know much, do you?"

I almost feel my hackles rise at his comment. I turn to glare at him. "I know plenty, thank you!"

He raises his hands in surrender, laughing. "I didn't mean to offend you, Your Majesty," he says, playing on Luca's teasing name earlier. "I meant you don't know much about this town. I thought your Mom or your grandma would have told you _something_."

Mmm. I would have thought so, too.

"So who is this Aves Hale?" I ask, not wanting to let this kid think badly of Mom or Saraiyu, even if I am annoyed about them leaving me in the dark about something I obviously should know.

"He was one of the founders of Serenity Falls. One of seven, he helped build this town." Cloud says it with a hint of fascination, making me believe that this knowledge was something he treasured. "The others were Stephan Steele, Carlos Malven, Charles Williams, Ashton Rhodes, Jacob Hawthorne and Acuda Oaken."

Some of the last names stand out to me, but it was the last that pulls me up short. "Oaken? You mean some ancestor of mine was a founder of this town?" This is proving to be a very educational afternoon.

"Yeah, Acuda Oaken and Carlos Malven were the ones who first found this empty valley and came up with the idea to build a town in it. It was a pretty big task though, so they brought in their friends – Stephan, Aves, Charles, Ashton and Jacob – to help. Within a few years they had a thriving community here, and it's only grown since then. There's some debate now whether what they did was a good thing, but there's not much that people can say about it now."

I'm shocked. I had never in my life heard of any of this, which kind of begged the question: is it even true? I narrow my eyes at Cloud. "You sure you're not just pulling my leg?"

He smirks at me, and Luca's face flashes through my mind. "Just ask your grandma about it. She'll tell you."

I think about his words for a minute, but come to the conclusion that it was a pretty detailed story, and what would be the point if I could just ask Saraiyu if it was true?

I sit on the couch next to him, trying my best to look relaxed. "Okay, I believe you. Can you tell me about what you said about people contesting their decision to build here?"

His guarded expression tells me more than the words that come out of his mouth. "Best just to ask your grandma about it. She hears a lot more of it than I do." He makes a physical effort to lighten up. "So how do you feel about Call of Duty?"

"You are in for a world of pain," I assure him with a grin.

A couple of hours later Cloud finally throws his controller down onto the coffee table in disgust. Once again he was killed and I'm still alive and kicking. "Come on, I have never ever lost this to a girl. Let alone one wearing pink nail polish." He falls back onto the couch for dramatic effect.

I grin, pleased with myself for holding my own. This is what I used to play instead of acting my age and going to sleepovers and parties. I'm glad to see it paying off.

Just as I'm thinking of something to say, Luca walks in. "Hey Cloud, what happened to- oh." He stops as he spots me – still grinning from my victory – and Cloud – still sulking from his destruction – on the couch together. I get the mad urge to slide further away from Cloud, and I have no idea where that feeling came from.

"Yeah I was just showing her how to play CoD," Cloud says casually, and I thump him with a cushion.

"Liar! I totally kicked your ass."

Luca watches the exchange with a bemused expression. "Well the reason why I came up here asking is because your grandmother just called and asked for you to come home." He smirks, and I'm completely mortified.

"Oh yeah, I guess it is getting pretty late." I try hiding my embarrassment, but thankfully it seems Cloud is oblivious to my blush.

"Did you want me to give you a ride home?" he asks, standing and stretching. I find my eyes instantly drawn to the strip of skin exposed as his shirt lifts. _Stop it!_ I scold myself, averting my gaze only to see Luca giving me a devilishly knowing look.

"Uh no, that's okay, it's not too far to walk. But thanks," I do my best to sound polite and not that I was trying to get out of there as soon as I could.

"Next time you won't be leaving here victorious," Cloud threatens, and it takes me a moment to realise he was talking about PlayStation. _Next time? So he wanted me to come back again.. that's a good sign, right?_

I grin. "We'll see."

The walk home is peaceful, but I walk fast because the sky looks like it was threatening to rain. I'm surprised that Saraiyu had called me at the Hale boys' house and not on my mobile. Thinking that maybe Mom hadn't given her my number, I shrug it off.

Arriving home, I walk into the kitchen to see Mom and Sky going through the stuff they had bought. Saraiyu looks up when she hears the door open. "Serenity! You're back from your walk already," she says, smiling widely as she shuffles around the kitchen making tea.

I'm confused. She knew exactly where I had been and how long ago I left; why is she pretending like I'd only just stepped out of the house? Knowing she wasn't the type to get me to go along with something just to get me in trouble, I follow her lead.

"Yeah. Looks like it's going to rain soon." Absolutely no details and an obvious fact were the best way to go when lying.

Mom gives me an understanding smile. "Have a look at this cute dress I got for you. I thought it would be nice seeing as you don't have many of them." She holds up a pale yellow and white tie-dye sun dress. It is nice and I thank her for it with a hug, but I secretly know it won't ever see the light of day.

Dinner is a quiet affair.

I begin noticing Mom's odd behavior more and more, particularly when Saraiyu starts talking about anything to do with the town. It's really beginning to get on my nerves, and makes most conversations tense.

Sky is bugging me too, but that is because she keeps staring at me suspiciously and hinting to Mom about me sneaking out of the house. I try quietly telling her to shut up about it, but typical for a fourteen-year-old, she just glares and me and goes back to poking at her food.

I feel strange after the last few days, especially around my family. It's like I had been living this fairly sheltered, normal life, and now I'm transitioning into a totally different person.

And I keep puzzling over Saraiyu's lie. It makes no sense at all. Why didn't she want Mom knowing I had been at Luca and Cloud's? Maybe she thought Mom wouldn't be happy with me being at a boy's house when she didn't know them.

I finally give up when I won't find out without just asking her, and when she disappears straight to bed after dinner, I know I'd have to wait until tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _Wednesday 20_ _th_ _August 2014_

The next day, I spend most of my morning in my room, organizing what stuff to put away and what stuff I would need for the boarding school I hadn't even known I would have to go to. After a steaming hot shower that I swear I'm still cold after, I wander downstairs, absolutely starving.

I come to a halt in the doorway to the kitchen. Around the kitchen table is an array of people I had never thought to see together.

"Hey Princess," Luca greets me with a grin and I wince. Mom's expression right now is so not good. Mai is innocently smiling at everyone and being as polite as possible, but her lacy crop top and cut off shorts aren't winning her any favors with Mom.

Sky is pretending to make lunch while every few seconds glancing up at Luca through her lashes. I almost snort at her. Nice to see she isn't a total alien.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask, looking from Luca to Mai and back.

Thankfully it's Mai who spoke; Luca probably would have started off his sentence with something flirty or insulting. "We're all heading over to Marion for the afternoon and wanted to know if you were interested in coming. It's for Jesse's birthday."

I am shocked. With everyone staring at me, I try keeping my expression as casual as possible. It won't do me any good to panic and have them second-guess asking me. I glance at Mom and her arched eyebrow tells me it is totally my decision to make.

"Oh go on, Serenity," urges Saraiyu. "It will do you good to see the local attractions and get to know some people your age." She smiles at me widely and I narrow my eyes at her. What game is she playing here? Lying about my trip to the Hale's house and now encouraging me to hang out with – I'm assuming – the whole lot of them.

It _would_ be nice to maybe do some shopping of my own, though...

"Alright, I just have to grab some shoes and my purse." I direct my answer at Mai, but I see Luca smirking out of the corner of my eye.

As I'm walking upstairs to grab my stuff I hear my name being called. I turn around to see Luca standing at the bottom of the stairs. I totally freeze, too surprised by what he could possibly want to even formulate a response.

He seems to find my silence amusing. "I was just wondering if you still had my jacket. I noticed you were wearing it yesterday but I think you left with it again."

Oh. I flush bright red. Yesterday had been so full of events I had totally forgotten I'd been wearing his jacket the whole time. "Uh, yeah. I'll just grab it for you," I stutter.

"Much appreciated," he says, smiling widely at me before disappearing again.

Well this day just keeps getting better and better.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." I stare up at the Jeep five minutes later. It is _massive._ I honestly don't know how they even got up there, it was that far off the ground.

All of them grin at me, Luca included, who I can just imagine would be looking mighty fine behind the steering wheel. He is actually wearing a shirt for once, plus a pair of dark tinted sunglasses that just add to his overall charm.

"My jacket?" he prompts.

"Oh." I pass it to him, trying to ignore the smirk on his face.

"Much appreciated, Princess." I glare at him for the nickname that it seems he was just not going to let go of.

"Come on Luca, quit flirting and help her up," Cloud calls down from the passenger seat. I glance up at him, surprised, not having noticed him in the passenger seat. When I see the ghost of a smile on his lips as our eyes met, I blush, remembering the fun time we had yesterday.

I don't have long to think about it because two strong arms are suddenly lifting me into the car as if it hadn't been any effort at all. "Good to know I don't weigh that much," I mutter to myself as I sink into the seat next to Jesse. On the other side of him is Kailya.

"Happy birthday," I say to him, remembering what Mai had said inside. He grins and thanks me. "Where's Mai? And the others?" I wonder out loud as I try to work out the seat belt.

Jesse rolls his eyes, but I get the impression it isn't anything to do with me. "She's riding in the other car with Mason." He lifts an eyebrow at me. "You didn't think we would all fit in here, did you?"

I blush. "Well, it _is_ pretty big."

He grins, helping me with the damn seatbelt that seems to come from six different directions, then faces the front. "Luca does love his cars."

My eyes find their way to Luca. He had climbed into the driver's seat while I'd been settling in. He looks so relaxed, and so completely different from all the other times I have seen him.

"Just wait until you see my horse," he says, grinning. I frown. A horse as big as this car? No _thank you_.

We pull out of the driveway and are on our way. What I'm assuming is Mason's car – a large navy blue affair of a model I've never heard of before – follows behind us as we leave town. It's a two hour trip, and what talking there is over the radio is light-hearted and usually at the expense of somebody.

I mostly just sit and listen, enjoying the feeling of being included in this group of interesting people. Mason, Mai, Victorie and Reina were in the other car, and I wonder how different the atmosphere would be if I was in that car instead.

Not meaning I want to give up this time to secretly gawk at Luca, but I still wondered anyway.

It's a nice drive, woods stretching out on either side of the road. The last time I'd been on this road was less than a week ago, but with everything that's happened since, it feels like a lifetime ago. And the company this time is a lot different from Sky's sullen silence and Mom's nervous energy.

Marion is a fairly large town, with just about every possible shop or attraction you could possibly want this close to the Appalachian's.

"So what's first Jesse?" Luca asks over his shoulder as we hit the town outskirts.

"Definitely Hardee's first, then the department stores. Got some gift vouchers and birthday money to spend," Jesse replies with an excited grin.

I smile along with everyone else. His energy is contagious, and my grumbling stomach is happy that food is foremost on his mind. As Jesse and Luca launch into a heated discussion about what they could do afterwards, I stare out the window.

We had been through Marion on the way to Serenity Falls last week, but we hadn't had time to really stop or look around, and I'd been too road-weary to really pay attention to much. A bustling town full of life, there were people everywhere in all directions and the idea of having to keep up with these guys in a crowd is slightly daunting.

Finding a parking spot draws a string of muttered curses from Luca, and I'm amazed at his patience: I would have been banging my head against the steering wheel by now or swearing out the window at other drivers.

As everyone clambers out of the Jeep – Cloud helped me out this time, making me blush _again_ – I spot Mason's car a few parking spaces down. We wait for them to join us and aside from the hell it was going to be to get to the fast food place, the only thing I can think about is my grumbling stomach.

Mai is the first to reach us, nimbly darting through the throngs of people. "Wow everyone's really turned out today, haven't they?" she says by way of greeting. "I can't remember the back to school rush being this bad last year!"

"We were at the lodges up until the 30th last year, and your Mom did all the school shopping," Jesse reminds her.

"Oh right. That was a fun summer." She smiles at the memory and I can't help but wonder what could possibly be so fun about a summer at some lodges.

 _I guess if I stay in this town for long enough I'll find out, won't I?_ I think to myself.

"They're probably here for the last few weeks of the farmers market, too," says Kailya. "Which I wouldn't mind going to by the way: I was hoping to make some soup tomorrow."

Victorie rolls her eyes. "You and your vegan crap."

Kailya glares at her. "I'm _vegetarian_ , not vegan."

"Whatever. Like there's a difference."

"Yeah either way you miss out on all the important food groups, like meat and cheese," is Avery's input into the conversation. Kailya's icy glare towards him could have frozen a bushfire. It definitely seems as though his comment had hurt more than Victorie's had.

"Kai and Avery have an interesting relationship," Cloud says to me quietly. I jump slightly, not having noticed him behind me. "Maybe there's something going on there, but like the Loch Ness Monster, there's never been hard proof."

I have to cover my mouth with a hand to muffle the giggle he surprised out of me.

"Come on guys, I'm freakin' starving!" Jesse exclaims, finally tiring of the bickering and leading the way through the crowds.

The walk to the fast-food place is near-disastrous for me, having almost been swept away by the tide of people twice, both times only narrowly been saved by Cloud. After the second time he informs me that if I insist on trying to get lost or trampled, he would have to hold my hand the rest of the way.

I had originally thought he was joking, but when his warm fingers slip through mine and he pulls me close behind him, I'm too surprised to protest. The feeling of his hand in mine is nice, and not something I have ever really experienced.

My face is just about permanently flushed by the time we get there. Hardee's isn't all that busy, considering all the people outside, but from the overflowing trash cans and tired-looking employees, the lunch rush has probably already been and gone.

Not wanting it to seem as though I'm clinging onto him, I gently pull my fingers from Cloud's hand. When he glances at me, I pretend I had let go in order to walk up to the menu.

I think I have only ever been in one Hardee's before, and that was years ago, so most things I have no idea what they were like. Not wanting to be stuck at the end of the line, I squeeze in behind Mai. She smiles at me sympathetically.

"Did your primary school allow line pushing?" Luca asks from behind me. I jump, not having realized he was next in line.

"Sorry. I'm just so freakin' hungry." I try using my most pathetic puppy eyes at him, but his raised eyebrows just make me feel like an idiot.

"Good thing you're new, otherwise you would be at the end of the line by now," he threatens, but I get the feeling his heart really isn't into it. I grin impishly up at him and am rewarded with a chuckle.

I return to examining the menu to further refine my order. Luca's warmth behind me is so distracting I have to re-read everything a million times before anything actually sinks into my muddled brain.

When we've all ordered and squeezed into the biggest booth they have, I'm squished in between Avery and Cloud. I feel tiny compared to them, with both being over six inches taller than me. Mai sits across from me in a similar position between Luca and Victorie, and it's a comical scene. We pull faces at each other.

"So how are you enjoying the Falls?" Avery asks softly, not looking away from his game of Tetris on his phone. I'm surprised. I can't remember him ever addressing me directly.

"It's been… a very different experience." I answer truthfully.

He snorts. "I've never been to California, but I can imagine that that is the biggest understatement of the century." His tone is joking and not at all rude, so I feel comfortable laughing at myself.

"Yeah, Cali's another universe away. I don't miss the heat though."

"I bet the chicks there wear bikinis all the time," pipes up Jesse, leaning around Avery to look at me.

I think about it for a second, never really having thought of it before.

"Well yeah I guess, although I never really went to the beach so I wouldn't know," I say.

Five pairs of eyes stare at me with disbelief.

"You lived in the beach state of America and never even went to the beach?" Victorie asks with disgust.

I'm not surprised. Even in the mountains her golden tan is always perfect. I bet she doesn't even have tan lines. The thought makes me feel inferior and I don't bother answering her.

"I guess that's like how you live in a town full of hard working people and you haven't done a day's work in your life," Cloud retorts. I look up at him in shock. Is he defending me?

Victorie just wrinkles her nose at him and strikes up a conversation with Mason, who is looking bored next to her.

"Well I guess we may as well use this time to discuss tomorrow's trip to the lodges," Luca says, looking very kingly as he leans back in the booth seat, a casual arm over the back of the booth. It's half over Reina's shoulders, but she doesn't seem to care too much.

A sadness in my chest blooms as I consider they could be together. Too busy thinking about all of the ramifications of my feelings if that is the case, I miss most of what was being said until a sharp kick on the shin makes me look around.

"What?" I demand, glaring at Mai.

She stares back at me innocently. "I asked you something and you were off in fairy land."

There are chuckles around the table and I just want to sink down into my seat. _Good job getting caught in la la land, Serenity._

"So anyway," she continues, ignoring my embarrassment, "I asked if you wanted to join us at the lodges tomorrow."

Everyone's attention is on me, even Kailya who up until that point had been pointedly ignoring everyone. I can't tell what she was thinking, but then I can't really read anyone's expressions. Only Mai is easy to read, and her eagerness for my answer doesn't really help me much.

"Well I would have to ask my Mom… what are the 'lodges', anyway?" My question prompts a mixture of rolled eyes, snorted amusement and poorly-concealed smiles.

"I keep forgetting you've only been here for a week," Luca admits, and he seems to be the only one who had kept a serious expression. "What we call the lodges are a group of wooden cabins at a lake nearby that we mostly use for hunting or fishing. Each year before we head back to school we go there for a few days to just chill out and relax. It's kind of a tradition, and seeing as you'll be joining us on the bus on the 31st, it's only fitting that we invite you, too."

It's probably the longest I have ever heard him talk at once, and I find myself being caught up in the almost melodic tone of his voice. Ugh. This is becoming a recurring problem for me.

"I've never been fishing or hunting, or swimming in a lake for that matter, and I've only ever been away from home for school camps, so from listening to myself say that, I think I should probably say yes." I say.

"Yay!" Mai exclaims, clapping her hands. I can't help but smile, even if I have a sinking feeling about this. There is no way Mom is going to let me go.

Our food arrives not long after and everyone is too busy eating to really talk. I'm thankful: I don't know how much more I can take of being the center of attention. I feel like a rare type of bug being examined by a whole team of researchers.

It takes record time to finish the food, which was delicious, but despite the two burgers, fries and chocolate shake I had, I still find myself being slightly hungry. Everyone else had ordered enough for three people each, and I had just assumed they were getting extras for later, but not one fry was left on the table.

Even Victorie, girly and seemingly picky as she was, had scoffed down three burgers by the time I finished my first.

Deciding to get something to snack on later, I follow everyone out of the fast food place and onto the street. It isn't as crowded now as it had been earlier, so I don't need to hold anyone's hand this time. I don't think I will ever really get over that particular humiliation.

Quieter streets don't stop Mai from threading her arm through mine, however. "Ah shopping. The best kind of therapy a girl could possibly need." The smile she has is infectious and before long I'm giggling along with her.

I don't remember ever being this comfortable around anyone, let alone a girl my age, and it's the best feeling in the world.

The department stores aren't quite like what I was used to in Cali, but are thankfully in the same price range, if a little cheaper. I had quite a lot of money saved up from multiple Christmas', birthday's and extra chores, so I've been a little frivolous with spending it today.

"Is there like a uniform that we have to wear to school?" I ask Mai as we enter the first store.

"Yep," she replies, and laughs at my disgruntled expression. "It's not that bad though, and we wear whatever we want after classes and on the weekends, which I'm sure is pretty relieving."

I am relieved. At my school in Santa Monica, there had been a uniform – a _very_ hideous one for that matter – and it's nice to hear that this one wouldn't be so cringe-worthy. And coming from Mai – whom I am sure would look spectacular in absolutely anything – I believe her judgement one hundred per cent.

"I need some new clothes, but I have no clue what the weather up here is like. All I really own is summer clothes and like one pair of sweatpants." I have a feeling that living in the mountains was going to get really cold come winter time.

Mai giggles, but I'm not sure which part of my sentence was funny. "Just grab a cart and I'll help you out."

"Thank you so much," I reply, already heading for the shopping carts.

I tell her how much I'm willing to spend and when she raises her eyebrows at me in impressed surprise, I just shrug and say I usually left the shopping up to my mom.

"Well, I think we should definitely start with pants, because that's the most important piece to start a great outfit." She adopts a slow, wise tone as she says it, which has me cracking up laughing.

"You guys are going to get us kicked out if you keep carrying on like this," Victorie tells us imperiously as she flounces past. She already has an armful of things.

Her comment only makes us laugh more.

Mai is a certified pro at picking out all the best things for the lowest prices, and before I know it my arms are full of bags and my purse is relatively unscathed.

"At least you have some money left over for weekends at the Academy. There's a bookstore there and a café, and from what I've heard from Cloud, you really seem to like your books." She gives me a sly smile and I flush. "There's also this cute little town near the school that has a lot of awesome stuff; so much better than the Falls!"

As nervous as I am about going to this new school, it's actually starting to sound like it will be fun, and I'm monumentally glad that I'll have people I know when I start.

An hour and a half later and we're on our way back home. After an hour of shopping, Jesse and Mason had the brilliant idea of sneaking into the Lincoln theatre to check out some play that was in session.

Within five minutes they were discovered and chased from the property by a crabby security guard. They thought it was absolutely hilarious, but secretly I hoped I would never have to do anything like that for these people to like me.

Back at the cars and I have to be helped into the Jeep again, this time by Cloud, who seems to have taken on the task of being my gentlemanly sentry. He even holds my shopping bags near his feet because by the time I even buckle my seatbelt he is already settled into his seat at the front.

I feel a little ridiculous and damsel-in-distress-like, but it's nice having someone looking out for me.

The atmosphere in the car is relaxed and content on the way back, everyone happy with the afternoon's events. It's a welcome change, but gives me way too much time to worry about how Mom is going to react when I ask her about going with everyone to the lodges.

It's much too soon when we pull up in front of my house, and Cloud helps me down again. Jesse and Luca call out goodbye while Kailya gives me a reluctant wave.

I'm determined to become friends with her – along with the other girls – but I suppose it will just take some time for them to adjust.

"Do you want help bringing these inside?" Cloud asks as he pulls my shopping down from the front floor. I think about saying yes, but the idea of Mom's questioning afterwards if she saw Cloud and I together would just not be worth it.

She isn't the strictest parent ever, but she seems to have something against the people I'm choosing to hang out with.

"That's okay. I need to get my muscle game up to where everyone else is at," I joke, eliciting a soft smile from him. It's true that everyone seems to have been born and raised in gyms, but I suppose it has something to do with small-town life.

"Here's my number, let me know tonight what your Mom says," he tells me, slipping a scrap of paper into one of my bags.

Oh my gosh.

"Okay," I say shyly. Reeling from the fact that he just gave me his _freaking number,_ I try not to waver or stumble as I walk up to the front door.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 _Wednesday 20_ _th_ _August 2014_

I pause in the entry hall for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts. They're scattered all over the place and I know that no matter what Mom's verdict is, it's going to be a very restless night.

The sound of raised voices drifts from the direction of the sitting room. Frowning, I place my stuff down at the base of the stairs and quietly head further down the hall.

"Honestly, Jayda. You would think there were monsters around every corner, the way you're carrying on." Saraiyu's exasperated voice is the first I hear clearly as I inch towards the open door.

"There may as well be! You know perfectly well why I'm so worried." Mom sounds stressed, and I imagine her pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. "What am I supposed to say to her? There's only a week and a half until she leaves for the Academy. That's not nearly enough time to adjust!"

I can just about hear Saraiyu roll her eyes. "Just get it over and done with! If you hadn't moved – and I was against that from the beginning – she would have grown up knowing everything, just like the others."

I frown. It sounds as though they could be talking about me or Sky, but none of it is making any sense. I hear the sound of air leaving a cushion in a huff – Mom must have sat down.

When she speaks next she sounds dejected. "Are you even sure that it's going to happen to her? Maybe it skipped them both." I hold my breath. What the hell?

"With Skylah there's no telling until she's fifteen or sixteen and you know that. But Luca Hale swears that the very first time he saw Serenity he knew immediately that it wouldn't be long. Her birthday is only a couple months away, you know as well as I do how these things work."

What does she mean by Luca being able to know it wasn't long? Long until what? They are definitely talking about me now, and I'm not any closer to working out what any of it means. It's beyond frustrating.

"Are you sure he even knows what he's talking about? He's barely a boy himself." The distaste Mom has for him is obvious.

"Luca has been an adult since he was five. He takes part in every council meeting and has never shirked any of his duties. There's no one better than him to take on the role that he has."

I knew Luca and Cloud's parents aren't around anymore, but I didn't realize the two were so young when they died.

Defeated, Mom changes the subject to the garden they're trying to revive out in the back courtyard.

I slip away quietly, barely daring to breathe lest they hear me. Gathering my bags I take them upstairs. No matter how many times I replay the conversation in my mind, I can't work out what they had been talking about.

All I know is that there's something serious that they're not telling me.

About to walk into my room, I see Sky poking her head out of her bedroom door. Since we've been here, we haven't really spent that much time together, and it's starting to eat at my conscience after we used to be so close in Cali.

"Hey Sky, I got something for you while I was in town," I say with a wide smile, trying hard not to give away my unease after what I heard downstairs.

She looks at me with a blank expression for a moment, then steps back and waves me into her room without saying a word.

Puzzled – surely this can't be _entirely_ normal behavior for fourteen-year-olds these days – I enter her room. I don't think I have ever been in here before, and there's no telling what it used to look like before we moved in.

Now, it's almost entirely covered – every possible surface – with her stuff. Most things are varying shades of pink or cream, which would have been overwhelming in any setting. Pair that with a shitload of cushions and pillows on her bed, a huge super-fluffy rug, a couple of plush bean chairs and what seems like her whole wardrobe's worth of clothing scattered all over the place, and it looks like a unicorn threw up in here.

Recognizing a couch similar to mine under a few piles of clothes and shoes, I make a beeline for that as Sky closes the door behind me.

Trying not to be too judgmental, I shuffle some stuff out of my way and sit down, rustling through the shopping bags.

"I got some cute shorts that I thought you might like," I say while trying to locate them.

"They've been talking about us ever since you left this morning, you know," she says quietly.

I look up, surprised. She sounds so… _sad_ , that I hardly know what to do. Then I wonder if she had heard similar conversations to the one I had. "I heard them talking when I got back just now, but none of it made any sense."

Sky sits cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch across from the one I'm sitting on. It hardly looked comfortable, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"I think it has something to do with that school they're sending you to, and I heard something about how things wouldn't be the same for you after your birthday," she's frowning as she speaks, probably trying as hard as me to make sense of it.

"I probably just need to ask them what's going on, but we both know what Mom's like, and it'll take her months to beat around the bush long enough before telling us something substantial… Saraiyu's our best bet," I muse. Sky nods her agreement.

I change the subject by finally finding the shorts and it's nice to see her smile in response to them.

I deposit my stuff in my room – well, I chuck the bags in the door and close it again – and trot downstairs. I have two bones to pick with Mom, but one has to take priority.

I find her in the kitchen, helping Saraiyu prepare dinner. While a little uncomfortable broaching the topic, it has to be done.

"Hey Mom, grandma," I greet them.

"Oh honey, I've told you just to call me Sarai. I've never been a big fan of all that 'grandma' stuff," she says, flapping a hand at me.

I grin, kinda relieved. After thirteen years of not seeing her, it's weird to think of her as a grandma, especially with how lively and strong she is. It makes me sad knowing she was sick.

"Hey sweetheart, did you just get back? I didn't hear the door." Mom frowns. She's probably thinking she's losing it.

"About ten minutes ago. I couldn't hear you guys, so I went to put my stuff upstairs and said hello to Sky. I bought her some shorts in town today." I'm babbling slightly and I know it. I can't help it: I'm so nervous to know what they will say about my staying at the lodges.

Mom arches an eyebrow at me in that way she does when she sees through my façade. "That's great, but what is it you're not saying?"

I glance between her and Sarai, trying to gauge their moods. Maybe I should have left this a little longer, until their argument wasn't so fresh. No going back now. Better to plunge in feet first.

"Well, I had a great day and everything. It was Jesse's birthday today so he requested we go to Hardee's to eat, and while we were waiting for our food they were talking about this thing they do each year where they go to the lodges," I pause to wait for their acknowledging nods to continue, "and well I wasn't really listening at first, but then they invited me to join them there." I suck in a deep breath when I finish as I wait for it to sink in.

Sarai is already smiling happily, and I know she's all for it.

Mom's expression, on the other hand, is worryingly blank. I can see the cogs ticking over in her brain, but I'm left sitting there fretfully, almost positive she is either going to say flat-out no, or freak out and storm off, which would also be a no.

"When would they be leaving on this trip?" she asks carefully, her voice not giving anything away.

"Early tomorrow morning. I'm supposed to text Cloud tonight to let him know," I say quickly, hoping that the fact she hasn't already said no is a good sign.

It takes her a moment to reply, focusing on her task of peeling potatoes. At this point I'm just about ready to start tearing my hair out. Sarai winks at me as she pours me a glass of lemonade. It's icy cold, and I sip at it while I wait for Mom to say something.

"How many of them are there going to be?" Sarai rolls her eyes at Mom's question, and I get the feeling that she already knows, but is asking to see if I'd lie.

I'm almost offended, but suppose it's only fair for her to be worried. I add quickly in my head, and was almost surprised at the large number: when they were all together, some tend to fade into the background while others are the center of attention.

"There's ten, including me." I hope that by including myself will help her see that I see myself as one of them.

She thinks it over for a moment. "And how many of them are boys?" is her next question.

I flush bright red. I should have known this would be a question. "Five. But Mason is dating Victorie; Avery is too self-absorbed to notice anyone else half the time; Jesse is too hyper and immature to notice the difference between a girl and a rock; Luca I think is with Reina; and Cloud…" What excuse was I going to give for him? He wasn't dating anyone that I was aware of, and he definitely knew I was a girl. "I think Cloud could be gay, but I'm not entirely sure." I internally wince, seriously hoping that he would never find out I said that.

Mom seems to accept this, albeit reluctantly, but I see Sarai raising her eyebrows at me. I try silently telling her just to play along. I should have thought of something a lot more plausible than Cloud being into guys. Sarai would have heard of something like that if it were true.

"Well, I suppose I can't really stop you," Mom says with a sigh, putting down the peeler to level her gaze at me. "But I really hope you remember the talk that we had a couple years ago if any of those boys try anything."

I know she's deadly serious, but I can't help but snort. There's no way I would get with any of them after only a few days of knowing them. How whore-ish would that be? "That's _not_ going to happen, Mom. I'm not that type of girl."

My words seem to pacify her on the topic. "As long as you know that, then I hope you enjoy yourself."

I jump up and give her a massive hug. I have never been so excited for something in my whole life. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exclaim before releasing her and racing back to my bedroom.

I upend the shopping bags on my floor, scrabbling through the stuff until I find the scrap of paper Cloud slipped in there. It's wrinkled, but his writing is neat and my heart flutters a little when I see he had drawn a little smiley face next to the digits.

Trying not to dwell on that, I type his number into my phone, triple check and save it, then begin a message.

 _Serenity: She said yes! – S_

I probably sound like I'm way too excited by this, but this is a monumental leap for me. The first time I will actually get to spend quality time with people my age, and there aren't any parents just down stairs to tell us to quieten down.

I stand in the middle of my closet, staring at my suitcase. I have no idea how many clothes I will need, let alone what type, and I don't want to look like an idiot if I get it wrong. I'm saved from the dilemma when my phone rings.

My heart skips a beat when I see it's Cloud. I had just expected a text! Taking a deep, calming breath, I answer.

"Hello?" My voice hitches a little, and I mentally slap myself.

"Hey, I got your message," Cloud says. Somehow over the phone his voice sounds like thick honey, and it makes me shiver. Maybe I had just never noticed before. "I thought I would call because we didn't really give you much info about what to expect, so I assume you have questions?"

Is he telepathic or something that he knows exactly what my problem is?

"I was actually just standing here wondering what to pack, so you guessed correctly." I sound totally normal this time, thank god.

He chuckles a little and I bite my lip as my breath catches in my throat. That was probably the sexiest sound on the planet. _Snap out of it Serenity! Why are you drooling over_ both _of them?!_

I can't believe myself. I have never ever been attracted to anyone before in my life, and here I am turning to jelly whenever I talk to these guys. And they're brothers, just to top it off.

I'm pondering whether it could just be their genes when he speaks again. "Well it is next to a lake, so we'll be swimming pretty much every day."

Awesome. I'll get to stand in a bikini next to runway perfect Mai and Victorie, that'll be great for my self-esteem. I decide to worry about that when it comes to it.

"Um, this might potentially be a silly question, but would a suitcase be okay to bring?" I ask tentatively.

I can hear the smile in his voice as he replies. "Bring whatever you want: Victorie has a tendency of bringing at least one suitcase for each day that we're going to be there."

I laugh, as much at myself for worrying as for the mental image his words bring to mind. "Okay. Suitcase is fine, bikinis preferable… what next?"

By the time we get off the phone forty minutes later, I have a neatly packed and well-prepared but _singular_ suitcase. I packed some of the clothes I bought that afternoon, thinking it was a perfect time to break them in.

While fishing was also part of the trip, Cloud assured me it wasn't mandatory, but said if I wanted to give it a go I could borrow some of his gear and he would show me the ropes. The prospect is exciting, and was most definitely something I will be dreaming about tonight. Maybe it's a weird fantasy, but I'm going to take advantage of it.

Cloud is going to pick me up in the morning, and is going to call when he's out the front. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow, and I can barely contain myself.

The conversation at dinner is a welcome distraction from my tremulous thoughts and feelings, but all too soon I'm off to bed, with Mom's voice trailing after me telling me to wake her when I leave in the morning.

I can hardly sleep, a mixture of nerves, excitement and anticipation swirling through me. When I finally do drift off, my dreams are filled with woods and sparkling clear water.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 _Thursday 21_ _st_ _August 2014_

I'm startled awake by my phone alarm in my ear. Sitting up, it takes me a moment to remember why the hell I set an alarm in the first place. As the fog lifts from my brain, I just about fall out of bed in my hurry to get up.

I had set my alarm in a very strategic manner, giving myself all of fifteen minutes to get ready, knowing that if I was left waiting around for too long I would begin to fret and self-doubt.

Dressed, hair tamed by an elastic band, suitcase near the front door, I go to wake Mom as she requested.

Walking into her room is almost like walking into my own. While she hasn't totally finished unpacking, the things that are set up neatly include the family photos, hand-made pottery she hasn't sold at markets, and a collection of paintings I did ages ago and gave to her as my 'biggest fan'.

Tousled blonde hair spread out over her jade green sheets (a Christmas present from me), she looks like a forest nymph. Her skin is pale, and her slightly puffy eyes suggest she'd cried herself to sleep. It tugs at my heart, knowing she stilled misses Dad, and being back here in the house they lived in together, must be harder on her than she lets on.

"Mom," I say softly, leaning over to shake her shoulder.

Her eyes open almost immediately, and for a second I think maybe she had already been awake, but then remember she told me once about how she's always been a light sleeper.

"Serenity," she says, her eyes focusing on my face. She looks kind of dazed.

"You asked me to wake you up when I left," I remind her, not at all surprised she doesn't remember. I doubt she'd gotten more than three or four hours' sleep.

Her expression clears. "Oh yeah, sorry." She sits up and I try not to notice the fact that her ribs stand out against the slim-fit t-shirt she wore to bed. It worries me that she obviously isn't eating properly, but I know once we settle in she'll get back to normal.

"Cloud will be here any minute to pick me up," I say, trying not to stare at her super-skinny frame. It makes her look so fragile, and I'm used to my strong, courageous mother who isn't afraid to voice her opinion.

I hope this change in her isn't going to be permanent.

"That's good, I assume you have everything ready?"

"Yep, suitcase is next to the front door," I say. My phone buzzes with a text from Cloud, saying he's outside. "Looks like he's here."

Mom hugs me tightly. "Behave yourself. If anything happens or you want to come home, call me immediately. Text me every morning to let me know you're okay."

I doubt there will be much cell service near the lake – I'm surprised it even worked in town – but I agree with her anyway.

Collecting my suitcase, I open the front door to find Cloud there, about to knock. I'm stunned for a moment, both at the surprise and at how breath-taking he looks in the early-morning light.

He recovers quickly. "Morning," he says cheerfully. "Here, let me take that." He takes the suitcase from my hands, lifting it like it's a feather, and carries it to the car.

His car, I note with happiness, is a faded red Camaro. I have no idea what year it is or any of the technicalities, but it's an amazing looking car. "Hey," I say, and even I'm not sure if I'm answering him, or talking to the car.

Noticing where my attention is fixed, Cloud chuckles as he loads my suitcase into the backseat. "It's not as clean as I would like, but it took me four summers' worth of work at the mechanic's to be able to get this baby fixed," he tells me, proudly patting the hood.

"There's nothing wrong with that," I say, coming to stand beside him.

"Are you a big car fan?" he asks, genuinely interested.

I laugh. "I wouldn't know the difference between a piston and a sparkplug."

"Just the fact that you know that those are parts of a car gives me hope," he says, grinning. I find myself lost in his eyes. They were such an intriguing shade of green that I find myself trying to work out what colors I would have to mix together to be able to paint them.

Suddenly his phone rings and he steps away to answer it.

A moment later he's back. "We'd best get going. The others are all waiting around the corner." He hesitates for a minute before seeming to make a decision and walks over to open the passenger side door. Smiling, he beckons me to hop in.

I'm shell shocked as I thank him and slide in, making sure the long strap of my handbag is clear of the door as he shuts it behind me. Did he seriously just open the door for me to get in? After taking care of my suitcase for me, too. I bite my lip to suppress a happy giggle. Who would have thought there would be such a gentleman behind his aloof expression and polite conversation?

Cloud climbs in next to me and starts up the car. The sound of it is exactly how I remember from seeing these cars driving in Santa Monica. I grin up at him, and he answers with a smile just as wide.

"Seatbelt," he reminds me and I comply. I don't see why he isn't happy with the car; I couldn't see anything wrong with it aside from the faded paint. There are probably things below the surface that aren't quite so fixed. That thought makes me think of Mom, but I push it to the back of my mind: I don't want to put a damper on today.

We pull out of the driveway and I find myself wondering if Cloud would let me drive it myself one day.

Around the corner are three other cars, parked but still idling. I recognize Mason's car, although I can only see him and Victorie in it this time. Luca's Jeep is there as well, with Jesse, Avery and Mai on board. A truck I don't recognize – a black Chevy – has Reina behind the wheel and Kailya in the seat next to her, so I figure it must belong to one of them.

Obviously having cars at a young age is pretty standard in this town. And clearly when there is a fleet of them like this it would usually be pretty noticeable, but most people we passed just smiled and continued with whatever they were doing.

It's a forty minute drive to the lodges, as Cloud helpfully informs me, as well as apologizing because his stereo isn't working yet. I say I don't mind, it's just nice to watch the scenery go past.

I have no idea what he thought of that, but he's a good companion. We talk occasionally when one of us thinks of something interesting to say, but mostly it's just a comfortable silence, even if my attraction to him is slightly embarrassing for me.

The sun is only just clearing the tops of the trees when we reach the top of a rise, and before us is a great mass of shimmering water. I'm in awe, face almost pressed to the window to take it all in. The trees thin out and disappear completely as the road flattens out again, the road veering to the right about a mile from the water's edge, taking us along the tree line and westward.

With the trees on my side, I have to peer around Cloud to continue staring out at the glistening lake, the morning sun reflecting off it and fracturing into a million different colors.

"It's so beautiful," I whisper.

"Yeah, it is," Cloud agrees, although he keeps his eyes on the bumpy road.

"You're so lucky to have grown up in a place like this." I'm humbled by what I'm seeing, watching the ripples across the surface of the lake as fish come up for air or small birds fly down to catch insects off the water.

"It's even better just around this corner," he replies, and I get the hint to sit back in my seat and watch the road.

The lake curves around, but when the road turns right again through the trees, we lose sight of it. I'm just happy knowing we will be swimming in it soon enough. It looks like it would be heaven.

Suddenly the trees disappear again and I only notice we had slowed right down when we drive into a clearing and right in front of us again is the water. A small wood and concrete jetty juts out from the beach, obviously a man-made structure I'm not sure I would trust standing on.

To the left of the clearing is a small iron shed with a padlocked door, and a larger wooden building that Cloud tells me was the toilets and showers.

Glad that there's plumbing, but unsure how one or two showers and toilets was going to be enough for ten of us, I focus my attention to the right as we park. More wooden buildings – seemingly made from whole tree logs – are clustered there, stone pathways linking them to each other and to the parking area.

There isn't any asphalt here, only gravel and dirt, and the idea that something as hideous as tar hadn't made its way to this quiet place was heartwarming.

I clamber out of the car as soon as Cloud kills the engine, keen to see more.

There are four buildings in all, all of them complete with large square windows and stone chimneys. It's like something out of a movie, and as unfamiliar to this place as I am, I feel completely at home.

My fingers itch to draw everything, but I know that I'll just have to wait, although I did bring my sketch pad and pencils.

"I'm glad to see that you're impressed," a deep voice says from behind me. I jump and turn to find Luca standing there. How did such a big guy always seem to move around without making any sound? "I was starting to think that you had a talent for taking everything in stride without blinking."

I smile sheepishly. "This is definitely not going to ever cease to amaze me; I can guarantee you that now."

"Good to know," he grins at me before setting off towards the cabins, Jesse and Avery in tow.

"I'm so happy you could make it," Mai says as she bounces up to me. I can tell she wants to hug me, but was reigning herself in. I don't know if I'm glad or not; I'm not really much for showing affection.

"I almost thought Mom was going to say no, but I think she feels bad about springing boarding school on me on top of moving," I say. I spot Cloud unloading my suitcase from his car and excuse myself from Mai to rush over.

"Sorry, I should have done that. I'm just so overwhelmed. This place is amazing."

His lips twitch with a smile, and for some reason he seems a little more guarded than he had before. "That's okay, it's a lot to take in I'm sure."

"Thank you for the great ride, though," I say, secretly hoping it won't be the last time. He has obviously spent a lot of time and money on it, and it really shows through.

"Anytime," he says, pulling his own duffel bag out of the trunk. When he turns to smile at me, I could have sworn he winked. I blush, totally unsure what to say after that, so just collect my suitcase and drag it back to Mai.

I'm glad to see that she had a giant rucksack full of her stuff, and I notice Cloud hadn't been exaggerating yesterday when he said how much stuff Victorie tended to bring. Mason was still helping her unload it all from his car.

"So what's first?" I ask.

"First, I show you where we'll be sleeping for the next few days," she replies, already setting off up the path. Grass grew everywhere there wasn't gravel or dirt, and it looks damp after the mornings' dew.

I follow her, making sure not to step on the grass so my canvas shoes don't get wet.

Out of the four log buildings, there's one that's noticeably bigger and looks a lot newer than the others. "That one has the kitchen and sitting area in it, with a couple of rooms. Luca and Mason sleep in there," Mai tells me as she points to it.

We pass between two of the smaller cabins, and ponder whether there are spiders around here. I hate spiders with an immense passion.

"The one on the left is for the guys. Jesse, Avery and Cloud sleep in there. Victorie, Kailya and Reina sleep in the other. And this," we stop in front of the last and smallest cabin, "is ours. Because we're the youngest here." She wrinkles her nose and I wonder if she had had to sleep in here by herself before I came along.

The door opens easily and we step through; obviously these get used regularly. There are four singles beds in all, each one in a different corner of the room and made neatly with sheets and quilted blankets. What looks like handmade wooden night stands are placed next to a couple of the beds, with wooden crates next to the others.

"We'll take these ones," Mai says, pointing out a blue-quilted bed for me as she dumps her bag onto the pink-quilted one. They happen to be the ones with the night stands. "These are the most comfortable."

"You know this is the first time I've ever slept away from home for this long before," I tell her, lifting my suitcase onto my new bed. It seems sturdy enough, considering the wooden frame looks handmade.

"Really?" She looks surprised. "This is only my second year coming out here with everyone, but before that I used to come out here with my family to go swimming and stuff. I guess it'll be hard for you once school starts in a couple weeks."

I think about it for a minute. Sure I'll miss everyone, but it seems like this will be a good chance to figure out the person I want to be without Mom hovering over my shoulder and telling me how she thought I should behave. She's an amazing person and the best Mom, but sometimes she needs to know when to step back and let me work things out for myself.

"I'll miss Mom and Sky, and Saraiyu too, but I'm actually really excited about it," I say honestly.

"Yeah, I get that. I started there last year and I was so scared to be leaving," she says, smiling sympathetically.

I'm really starting to feel as though Mai and I are becoming friends, and the warm feeling in my heart because of that makes any uneasiness I feel around the others totally worth it.

"Okay, first order of business is to unpack the essentials, in case we're in a hurry to grab something and don't have the time to dig through a bag." She's reciting it like she's a tour guide or Girl Scouts leader and she'd memorized the whole manual.

There are a couple of chests of drawers at the end of each bed (again handmade) which we begin unpacking our stuff into. I notice Mai looking at what stuff I brought and nodding with approval. Obviously Cloud had steered me on the right track with what to bring.

All together it isn't a whole lot. Three t-shirts, one hoodie, one pair of sweatpants, two pairs of jeans, two pairs of cut-off denim shorts, three bikinis (just because I couldn't decide between them), a hat, flip flops and enough underwear and socks for the three days. I had kept the toiletries to a minimum, thanking God a million times that it wasn't _that_ time of month, and hoping that I brought enough sunscreen.

Oh, and a pillow. That had been another suggestion of Cloud's, because he said the ones kept here were often lumpy and flat.

"I don't know which bikini I want to wear… will we be swimming today?" I'm not sure if anyone had actually specifically said what we would be doing today.

"Yeah, usually we all go for a swim once we get here and the guys try to catch some fish for lunch while we hang out on the beach and sunbathe," Mai says as she finishes putting her stuff away. "And I would definitely go for the blue set, they totally suit your skin tone."

She begins pulling off her own clothes in order to change into her bikini, and I'm left with a dilemma. Clearly I'm going to have to either strip in front of her or walk all the way back across the parking area to the shower building just to get changed. By the time I did that everyone would already be in the water.

 _Guess it's time to just get over my self-esteem issues_ , I think, mentally gritting my teeth.

Making sure that Mai isn't looking directly at me, I quickly change my bottoms first, using my shirt to kind of hide my nether regions. That done, I turn around to take my top and bra off, the whole time so conscious about Mai standing behind me that I literally feel my skin twitching with unease. I pull the bikini top on and thankfully all I have to do is slip the halter strap over my head and clip the rest together behind my back.

I pull my shirt back on over the top, still not comfortable enough to walk around without it, but I do leave my shorts off. I had made sure that every square inch of my legs was shaved last night, and I have no problem showing them off.

"All done?" Mai asks, and there isn't even a hint of judgment in her tone. I feel relieved knowing that either she understands why I'm still wearing the shirt or is at least polite enough not to show how weird she thought it was.

"Yep," I reply, trying so hard not to show how jealous I am of her amazing figure. In her lime green bikini, her creamy skin looks perfect, and definitely shows off all the important parts. I secretly wonder if there was one of the guys she's trying to impress.

Two seconds out the door, however, I think otherwise. Victorie, Kailya and Reina are dressed exactly the same and I come to the immediate conclusion that this is normal and I'm going to have to get used to it.

Victorie's bright pink bikini looks like it would scare away any of the fish the guys might be hoping to catch, but I keep that thought to myself. Her pale blonde hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail that looks way too painful to put up with just because of the style points.

Kailya's crimson red one-piece looks like fresh blood against her ivory skin and I would have thought it would clash with her bronze-red hair, but it actually seems to bring out the golden high-lights in it.

While their bikinis were so colorful it was almost blinding, Reina's was contrasting in a lacy white set that looks great against her lightly tanned skin with her long auburn curls.

They're all standing on the grass outside their cabin, smiling at something that Jesse and Mason were doing. Never in my life have I felt as self-conscious as what I do walking down to meet them.

Having Mai beside me doesn't even help because she looks as breath-taking as they do. I feel like I've been pulled out of a regular old photoshoot and plopped down in the middle of a Victoria's Secret one.

"Nice legs, Serenity," Victorie says as we reach them. I can see her piercing blue-grey eyes assessing every inch of exposed skin. "What's with the shirt?"

"Oh leave her alone, Vic. She's been here all of five seconds, let her settle in before you start being all pretend-bitch on her," Reina tells her, rolling her eyes. I'm shocked; again someone I haven't really spoken to before is standing up for me. "Us short girls need to stick together," she tells me, smiling wryly. She'd already noticed what I hadn't; we're about the same height – about 5"5' – and for some reason this makes me laugh.

I guess it's nice to know that not all of them are supermodel perfect.

"Are you girls coming down to the water, or what?" Jesse yells up at us. We all look over to see the guys are already half-way down to the lake. He clearly wasn't waiting for a reply, turning and racing passed the others and basically belly-flopping straight into the water.

"And every one wonders why he's still single," Mai mutters, rolling her eyes and making everyone snort.

We make our way down to the soft sand at the edge of the lake. I keep to the back of the group, both so the back of my head isn't on fire from being stared at, and because I don't trust myself not to fall over.

It would not be the first time, believe me. I pick my way off the path and through the rocky band before the sand began.

By the time I even reach the water pretty much every one else is already in there. Seeing an opportunity to get every ones attention on each other and away from me, I sit next to Cloud on the sand at the edge of the water.

"Aren't you swimming?" he asks in surprise as he notices me.

"I'm just waiting 'til they're not all looking to take my shirt off," I say, again opting for total honesty. I think I startle a laugh out of him, because the chuckle that escapes his lips sounds different from other times I've heard it.

"I'm not even going to pretend to understand why you girls get so worried about what other girls think of their bodies. It just seems like so much effort to be that self-conscious all the time." He shakes his head and I feel silly all of a sudden.

Why am I so worried? It's not like I haven't worn a bikini before. Changing rooms and the swimming pool at our old house count, right?

"You can't possibly be telling me that you are one hundred per cent fine with displaying almost every inch of your skin in front of other people." I stare at him, daring him to contradict me.

He smiles sheepishly. I knew it! "Okay, I get your point, but honestly what's the problem? It's not like you have an extra nipple or toe or something."

I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing. "Here goes absolutely nothing then, I suppose," I say, sighing dramatically as I pull my shirt over my head and let it fall to my side.

I see Cloud glance down at my newly-exposed flesh, as if he can't quite help but look. I feel weird about it suddenly. Should I really be relishing in a guy openly looking at my breasts and stomach?

Not wanting to ruin my mood by dwelling on that, I stand quickly and dive into the water. Not knowing how deep it would be, I make sure my dive is shallow, and surface quite a way from the shore-line. Feeling as though I can breathe properly again, and still glad the water muddles what people can see of my body, I close my eyes and tilt my face towards the sun.


	10. Chapter 9 - Part 1

Chapter 9 – Part 1

 _Thursday 21_ _st_ _August 2014_

I swim until my fingers prune, and I feel more relaxed than I have in months. I leave the water reluctantly only when Cloud reminds me that he promised to teach me how to fish. I pout as he hands me a towel, making him chuckle and shake his head.

"There'll be plenty of time to swim over the next couple days," he assures me, waiting for me to pull my shirt back on before leading me over to the unstable-looking jetty. Jesse and Luca were already there, setting up their fishing stuff.

I feel like dousing myself with holy water at the thoughts running through my mind at seeing all these shirtless guys. When did I become so fickle about being attracted to people? It's like my emotions were running wild, and I have no idea how I'm supposed to reign them back in.

Instead of giving in to my thoughts and feelings, I focus on what Cloud is telling me. He explains very little, saying it's more of a learn-as-you-go kind of thing. He supervises me while I bait my hooks and stands behind me to help with my casting.

I'm concentrating so hard that I manage not to dwell on the shivers I got from his proximity, and actually manage to catch a fish. "Holy shit!" I exclaim, laughing and reeling in the taut line.

Cloud gives me a lop-sided grin. "On the first try, too. You must be a natural."

Jesse snorts from where he's standing a few feet away. "Cloud's just jealous that he spent hours on this lake trying to catch his first fish! I wouldn't listen to anything he says; he's probably going to try saying you only caught the fish because of him."

I couldn't care less about Jesse's insult, or when Cloud shoved him, causing Jesse to fall into the shallow water. I had proudly caught one of the fish that would become tonight's dinner, and I didn't care if Cloud had helped me or not.

"I hope you guys don't expect me to gut this thing myself," I say, watching the poor fish flop around on the wood. When none of them answer, I look up quickly. They all just look back at me, Cloud being the only one with the decency to look a little uncomfortable. "But I don't know how to," I whine, knowing full well that I sound like a petulant child.

"There's nothing wrong with learning," Luca says, a familiar smirk adorning his face. "It's not as bad as it seems." The other two nod in agreement.

I wrinkle my nose, looking back down at the fish, who was now sporadically gasping for air. I suppose killing it would put it out of its misery, and even if I didn't do it myself, one of the guys definitely would.

"Fine," I grumble, sighing.

Cloud pulls out a filleting knife and proceeds to show me how to kill it properly before instructing me on how to gut it. I dump the innards in the empty bucket he supplies and scoop a little water over the fish to wash off the leftover muck.

"Do you wanna go give it to Mason in the main cabin so he can get it ready for tonight?" Cloud asks, already picking his fishing rod up again.

"Sure," I say, holding the fish carefully so it didn't slip out of my fingers and into the water or onto the sand. I feel bad about killing it, but I suppose that this was what everyone has been doing here for generations, and I'm not about to turn my nose up at tradition.

Entering the main cabin, I find Mason and Reina arguing over whether capsicum was better fresh or grilled. It was pretty obvious that whatever side he was on, Mason was quickly losing. They spoke like two people who had known each other forever and weren't even a little bit shy to voice their opinions.

I'm jealous, knowing that it will be a long time before I know anyone well enough to be able to do that.

"Uh, hey… Cloud told me to bring this to you guys," I say nervously, standing awkwardly in the doorway. Both of their heads swing towards me and they look a little confused before their eyes land on the fish in my hands.

"Oh, nice!" Mason says, gesturing for me to place it on a chopping board in front of him. "Bigger than his usual catch."

It takes me a moment to realize that he's under the impression that Cloud caught it. I debate whether I should correct him, and figure I should continue with my honesty policy. "Uhm, I caught it, actually." I try not to sound rude, but I'm not sure if I succeeded or not.

Both of them stare at me, surprised, for a moment. "That's awesome," Reina tells me sincerely, smiling encouragingly. I smile back gratefully. I'm liking this girl more and more.

Mason bursts out laughing, startling me. "Oh man, he is never going to live that one down!" he howls, wiping a tear from his eye. I frown, silently wondering if he's mentally okay right now, but shrug it off. I don't think I'll ever fully understand these people.

I walk back outside to find Avery has joined the boys on the jetty. Not wanting to squeeze in and disrupt them, and feeling like I'd done my part for the day, I spot Kailya relaxing on the beach.

I bite my lip, debating on if I should join her or not. Sucking up my courage, I walk over and sit down beside her. The sun is beginning to set over the water, lighting the sky up with a rainbow of color. The water before us mirrors it perfectly, creating a breathtaking landscape.

I think about running back to my cabin to grab my phone to take a photo, but decide that even captured for eternity in pixilated form, a photo could never hope to replicate the pure beauty of what I'm seeing.

Glancing over at Kailya, who still hadn't said anything and was just staring lazily out at the water, I search for something to say. A group of bands around her ankle catch my eye, and examining them closer, I see they're like those friendship bracelets people make on school camps and stuff.

"Hey, cool anklets," I say, forcing the words out over my shyness. To be perfectly honest, Kailya scares the hell out of me.

She barely ever speaks without prompting, and when she does it's only a few words at the most. Now is no exception. "Thanks," is all she says, her voice flat.

Perhaps stupidly, I try again. "Where'd you get them from?"

Again, she answers bluntly. "I made them."

"Really?" I blurt it out, surprised. She doesn't seem like the crafty type.

She turns her head to raise an eyebrow at me, her face otherwise expressionless. "Do you not believe me?" Her pale blue eyes are piercing, seemingly looking straight into my soul.

I flush. "No – I mean, yes, uh… I just didn't really peg you for the sort to make stuff like that." God I sounded so lame. If she didn't think I was pathetic before, she surely would now.

To my utter shock, she laughs softly. "I could say the same about you, yet I've heard about your painting talent." She turns back to looking at the sunset and her nose ring glints in the light, distracting me.

 _I wonder what I would look like with a nose piercing,_ I muse, trying to picture it. "I guess I was a little quick to judge. Sorry."

"It's all good. Happens a lot. I mostly make them because my Mom owns the second hand store in town, she lets me sell them there. It's a good way to get some pocket money."

I hum my agreement before remembering something she said. "How did you know about my supposed 'painting talent'?"

She smirks at me. "Our Mom's are old friends, and yours spent a good half an hour one day telling mine about your paintings."

"Oh wow, that's embarrassing," I say, my face heating up again.

"It's sweet that she talks about you so much. The only one Mom seems to talk about in our family is Accy." Kailya rolls her eyes.

"Accy?" I ask, wondering who she was talking about.

"Yeah, Acacia, my younger sister. She's just turned fifteen and it's like the sun shines out of her ass or something."

I snort at her wording. "I know what that's like. Back in Santa Monica, Mom was like that with Skylah. That's probably why Sky's been sulking since we moved back, now that I think about it." I glance at Kailya sideways, noticing her natural smile. "I guess we have a lot more in common than I thought," I admit.

Her smile grows a little wider as our eyes meet. "Yeah, I guess we do."


	11. Chapter 9 - Part 2

Chapter 9 – Part 2

 _Sunday 24_ _th_ _August 2014_

The last few days have been a blur. I don't think I have ever had so much fun in my life. Swimming each morning turned into fishing and sunbathing. Tonight was the last night, and from the way everyone was behaving, we would never be able to have fun again.

"Serenity, dinners almost ready, have you packed yet?" Mai pokes her head through the door to interrogate me.

"Yeah I'm just trying to find my anklet, I think I dropped it under the bed…" I'm on my hands and knees trying to peer into the space under the bed, but I can't see the stupid thing anywhere.

"I'll help you find it after, come on! We're playing games once dinner's finished!" She hurries off again and I'm left to clamber to my feet and take off after her.

Everyone is spaced out around the sitting area of the main cabin, some already munching on the food Luca's cooking on the stove top. I smell steak and sausages, along with fish and a mixture of roasted vegetables.

There's a small fridge kept here for any food we brought with us, but we aren't meant to leave anything behind in case it attracts bears, so tonight is a feast of the so-far-uneaten food.

I'm handed a chipped plate and told to grab whatever I want from the piles of already-cooked food. I help myself, making sure to get plenty of roasted sweet potato, one of my favorites.

Plopping down on the couch next to Cloud, I fling my legs across his lap and poke my tongue at him when he raises an eyebrow at me. He shakes his head in mock disapproval. "Mace, can you get me some food now that I can't get up?"

Mason frowns at him then raises his eyebrows when he sees the dilemma. "It's a sad day when a man can't get his own food," he says, voice mournful.

"Maybe if you were actually a man," Reina mutters, and everyone who heard her cracks up laughing, leaving Mason standing there clueless.

Cloud has to remind him of his request before a plate of fish and vegetables is handed to him. He rests his plate on my legs, and I can't help the shivers each time his arms rest on me. This familiarity with him is strange, but over the last couple days our connection has really grown and I consider him to be a good friend.

Unfortunately for my poor heart, my attraction to Luca has also been growing. Every time I see him he's shirtless and only in shorts, making my heart do weird things. He also seems to like making little flirtatious comments when no one else is listening, that only left me feeling confused over what he could possibly be thinking.

Yes, I want him. So, _so_ badly, but I am not planning on doing anything about it.

"So who is up for a game of Never Have I Ever?" Victorie asks half an hour later as everyone is sitting around, stuffed full of food.

"Seriously, Vic?" Kailya scoffs. "Is that the best you can think of?"

Victorie shrugs her off. "It's not that bad. Plus, there's a couple bottles of whisky I brought, and Mason scored some Vodka; this could get interesting!"

Everyone perks up at the mention of alcohol. "How have you been holding out on us this whole time?" Avery demands, glaring at Mason. Mason just shrugs and grins at him, obviously pleased with himself.

"We were saving it for tonight, so we can have some fun," Victorie butts in, clearly not liking the attention off her.

Unease blooms in my stomach. I have never drank before (aside from that one spiked drink at the forest party last week), and they're talking about a game I know is notorious for spilling deep dark secrets. Not that I have any, but it doesn't stop me from feeling nervous.

As Victorie pulls out the illicit beverages and serves them up to everyone – I have no idea what she passes me – I settle into my seat further, knowing this is going to be a long night.

"So who's first?" Victorie asks as she sits on the rug in front of Mason's legs.

"It was your idea, you can start," Jesse informs her.

She's more than happy about that and doesn't hesitate in starting. "Okay, let me think… never have I ever… "

"This may take a while," Cloud whispers to me and I have to cover my mouth to muffle my laughter.

"Never have I ever fallen off a cliff." At first I think it's a weird thing to say, but then she smiles evilly and stares at Kailya. I'm surprised when the red-head takes a sip from her cup. Fallen off a cliff? What the hell? She doesn't _look_ like someone who's ever fallen off anything, let alone a cliff.

"We'll go clockwise from Vic," Luca commands from his relaxed position taking up a whole couch.

And so it goes.

Next is Mason, behind Victorie. "Uh.. Never have I ever had someone slap me across the face." He seems happy with himself for this, thinking that surely this would have happened to a few people.

I'm just thinking that it was the silliest thing ever, when Avery and Jesse both scowl and take a drink. What made it really funny was the twin grins Mai and Kailya were wearing.

I can understand Mai slapping Jesse because they're cousins and he's obviously a bit of a dick sometimes, but Kailya slapping Avery? There's one story I'm not sure if I want to hear about. Especially with the sulky expression he has on his face.

Next is Jesse's turn, and it's obvious he already knew what he was going to say. "Never have I ever set someone's hair on fire," he says immediately, grinning at Mai next to him and it's her turn to glare at him and take a drink.

I have a feeling this is about to get hostile.

Now it was Mai's turn, and she sure took her time thinking through what she was going to say. "Never have I ever taken something out of the trash and eaten it." She watches with pleasure as Jesse once again groans and takes a drink.

I'm glad that no one knew embarrassing things about me, but now it's my turn and I'm really feeling the pressure. I don't want to say something seriously lame, but at the same time I have no idea what's classed as lame in this odd group.

"Uhmm.. Never have I ever… broken something at a friend's house and not told them." There, that isn't boring and could possibly be interesting. I'm not disappointed. Everyone except for Jesse drank.

"Okay, how have you never broken something of someone else's when you just about make it a full-time career to be as immature as possible?" Reina demands of Jesse.

He shrugs innocently. "Oh I've broken other people's stuff, I'm just honest about it," he replies. This makes everyone laugh and shake their heads.

Having gotten past my turn without anything embarrassing or bad happening, I settle back and wait for Cloud's turn.

It takes him a few moments of careful thinking, and I see quite a few eye rolls at the seemingly deliberate time lapse. "Never have I ever… injured myself trying to impress someone."

 _Shit, have I ever done that before?_ I try scanning my memories to try and work out if I have or not and by the time I work out that no, I haven't, it's Avery's turn and I hadn't even noticed who drank to Cloud's statement.

"Never have I ever broken a bone," he says. _That's an easy one, I could have said that!_ I think to myself, and am secretly glad I had never been an adventurous child. Luca, Jesse, Reina and Mai all take a drink.

Reina was up next. "Never have I ever been handcuffed." It's weird that she specifically says handcuffed instead of arrested, but when I see Victorie and Mason both smile sheepishly and take a drink, it makes sense. Now _that_ is definitely not a mental image I wanted in my head.

Kailya's turn, and she seems as though she doesn't really want to say her piece, but forces it out anyway. "Never have I ever been hunting," she says, wincing as she says it.

Literally everyone looks at her first, unsurprised, then stares directly at me.

At first I'm confused, then it dawns on me that I've never been hunting either. And now I'm having to take my first drink with the whole nine pairs of expectant eyes on me.

Surely it isn't going to be that bad, right? _Just do it for God's sake!_ I command myself, a sad excuse as it is for a pep talk. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I take a sip.

It takes a second for the burning to erupt on the back of my throat as it goes down, but as it does I force my face to stay calm, and not start coughing or pull a sour expression like I'd seen some of the others do.

When it's down and I'd stayed neutral, I get a lot of impressed nods and surprised faces staring at me.

"I totally thought you would spit it back out," Victorie grumbles, impressed but displeased that she'd underestimated me.

"Not many girls who can take such a delicate sip without choking," Mason says, nodding approvingly. Victorie flicks his leg.

"Living up to your nickname, huh?" Luca asks, smirking at me. It takes me a minute to remember what he's even talking about but when I do I scowl at him.

Clearly everyone is over the game after that, because they start up conversations between each other, leaving me alone to my muddled thoughts.

The whisky is creating a pool of warmth in my stomach, but it's nothing like how Luca makes me feel when he looks at me like we were the only two people in the room. I don't think he does it intentionally, but damn the feelings it flares to life.

Everything's spinning. Wait, no. That's not the right way to describe it. It's more like whenever I turn my head, it takes a few seconds for my brain to catch up.

For my first time really drinking, I seem to be doing pretty well. I noticed that a few of the others stopped drinking a while ago, but I don't ponder that too much.

The music from the guys' cabin is loud enough to resonate through my bones, and I can't help but lose myself in the beat. The air is warm, my toes digging into the sand, my mind blissfully empty of thoughts and I feel hidden by the relative darkness.

We had all migrated to the sandy area outside the cabins, where there are wooden benches and plastic folding chairs set up around a huge fire pit. Those who aren't dancing are sitting around either talking or relaxing, and I'm quite happy swaying to the beat in my own little bubble.

I'm not sure how long I was dancing for when I feel someone beside me and look up to find Luca staring down at me, bemused.

I don't know what exactly he found so funny, but when he takes my hand and pulls me towards the dark main cabin, I figure I'm about to find out.

The fans in the main room are on, and the cool air they provide is relief on my warm skin. The lights had been turned off when we went outside to stop insects from being attracted to the light and we don't bother turning them on now. Luca's hand, warm and firm in mine, pulls out of my grasp so he can search through his pockets for something.

We can still hear the music and the others laughing as they have fun. I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly wishing I had a sweater.

"Why'd you bring me in here for?" The unfiltered words are out of my mouth before I even consider saying them.

He seems to find what he was looking for: a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He stands by the open window and lights one, the lighter flame throwing his face into sharp relief in the darkness.

The longer I spend alone with him, the more my attraction for him grows and I don't think I can tolerate torturing myself for much longer.

When he doesn't answer – arrogant jerk – I try again, "So you pulled me in here so you could have a smoke? I'm sure that's a fire hazard." I roll my eyes.

Luca looks at me, eyebrow raised, and in the dark I couldn't possibly hope to understand the look in his eyes. But then he smirks, that slow, sensual grin that promises hell.

"Kailya hates it when I smoke, starts squawking on about lung cancer, and I thought you could use a break from all that dancing," he says, taking a puff and blowing the smoke out the open window.

"I thought I was doing quite fine thank you," I tell him as snootily as possibly. Then, feeling bolder than I ever had in my whole life, I reach over and pull the cigarette out of his fingers. Watching happily as he stares at me in confusion, I raise it to my own lips and inhale.

Congratulating myself when his expression turns shocked, and I don't succumb to a coughing fit, I blow the smoke up towards his face.

It all happens so quickly. One moment I'm defiantly staring up at him, and the next he has me pinned against the wood-paneled wall.

I gasp, almost dropping the cigarette in surprise. He plucks it from my fingers and roughly puts it out on the stone windowsill.

Then he's kissing me and I'm set aflame.

Cradling my neck with one hand, and the other one on my waist pulling me firmly against him, I'm lost. Every single nerve in my body is electrified by his kiss, which is turning more demanding with each passing second.

I'm putty in his arms, and I'm loving every single delicious moment of it.

Finally he pulls away, both of us breathing heavily. I'm well and truly sobered up, only to be dazzled by his smoldering gaze. Eyes burning a brilliant green, Luca rests his forehead against the wall next to my head, one of his arms still around me and the other against the wall to hold himself up.

I'm floating in an astonished haze. My first kiss, and it was with Luca fucking Hale. I couldn't have done better, but I can't help but wonder how far I'd let this go.

"Well that was…" I trail off, suddenly not wanting to speak my mind, in case he hadn't thought it was all that great. That would be mortifying.

"Fucking incredible," he finishes for me. I look up at him, biting my lip, eyes wide. "You continue to surprise me, Princess."

I flush with pleasure, both at the compliment and the pet name.

"I love it when you bite your lip like that," he growls, and I gasp. He captures my lips with his again, making my belly clench deliciously with the feelings his kisses stir inside me. I'm carried away with the intensity.

In one swift movement, Luca has both hands under my ass and is lifting me up, level with his waist. I obligingly wrap my legs as far around as I can as he pushes me back against the wall.

Arms wrapped around his neck, I run my nails along his shoulders and back, occasionally digging them in so as to make him press his erection further into me.

It's so incredibly arousing, especially when he begins trailing nips and kisses along my jaw and down the side of my neck.

Head tilted back, and without entirely meaning to, I circle my hips against him, making him growl and move kisses back to my mouth.

My back arched so my breasts are pressed against his chest, I suddenly freeze as I hear Mai calling out my name.

She walks in a minute later to find Luca re-lighting his cigarette, leaning against the window frame while I lay on the couch, innocently staring up at the ceiling fan. I turn my head to look at her.

"Hey Mai," I say, smiling brightly.

She looks back and forth between us suspiciously, and I am supremely grateful for the darkness.

She narrows her eyes at me slightly. "I couldn't find you, so I came looking." She turns to glare at Luca.

He continues to ignore her.

"I needed to chill out for a few minutes and Luca accompanied me to make sure I didn't wander into the lake." I try to laugh it off, but I'm not sure she's entirely convinced.

She seems to grudgingly accept my lame excuse. "Well I came to find you because I was heading to bed and figured you'd be exhausted by now." The look on her face says she wasn't sure about that anymore.

I wasn't about to support any of the theories – however true – that are no doubt running rampant in her mind. "That sounds great, my head is pounding." Is that a smirk I can see on Luca's face? Hard to tell in this light.

"Okay, seeya Luca," Mai says, not expecting a reply as she turns to leave. She's obviously expecting me to catch up with her, because she doesn't stick around outside.

I glance at Luca when we're alone again. He's already watching me, an appreciative look in his eyes and a one-sided smirk on his mouth.

I knew it.

"See you tomorrow, Princess," he says with a wink.

I get out of there as fast as possible before I do or say something I regret.


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 _Thursday 28_ _th_ _August 2014_

It's only a few days left until I leave for my new home away from home, and pretty much every day I wake up it's the first thing on my mind. And that's enough to start off my day in a foul mood.

I don't know what the hell is going on with me. One minute I'm in a perfectly normal frame of mind and then the next I'm angry enough to commit murder. Figuratively speaking, of course.

It's baffling. Especially when Saraiyu notices and begins having heated discussions with Mom. I don't bother trying to eavesdrop; if it was something I needed to know, they would tell me when they saw fit to.

Filled with pent-up energy by early evening, I decide it's time to retire for the night. Claiming to have a migraine and wanting to go to bed early, I get away with retreating to my room without so much as a batted eyelash.

Except for Skylah, but I ignore her. Her death glares are becoming a regular occurrence. Obviously our moment of reconciliation before I went to the cabins is long forgotten.

I pace the length of my room for a while, trying not to think about anything but ending up even more stressed than before.

Just as I'm starting to get super wound up, I hear my phone buzz with a text.

Frowning, – who the hell would be texting me? – I go to investigate.

 _Unknown: Up for a little night-time stroll through the woods? – L_

I re-read the text from an unknown number as least fifty times before a slow grin spreads across my face, along with a nervous feeling in my stomach.

There was only one 'L' I knew who would say something like that: Luca. I haven't seen him since Cloud dropped me off three days ago, and there was so much left unanswered that I barely know what to think.

I save the number quickly and dither over what to reply with, then settle with being direct.

 _Serenity: Depends… how did you get my number?_

It didn't take long for a reply.

 _Luca: Cloud gave it to me_

I roll my eyes. Of course Cloud would give it to him, having absolutely no clue about what happened. He'd already given it to Mai and Reina. There was no such thing as privacy in this town.

My phone buzzes again, making me jump.

 _Luca:_ _So am I standing out front for nothing or are you coming?_

My breath catches in my throat. Is he being serious? I rush to the full size window and peer out the curtain towards the street. Sure enough, there's Luca, hot as ever, leaning against my front fence with his eyes on his phone.

Holy crap.

 _Serenity: Be right out_

I send the quick reply and hurry to make sure I look suitable for a super-secret escape to hang out with Luca Hale, the guy I had had a hot make-out session with and resident bad boy. Well, one of the many bad boys in this town, anyway.

Nervous butterflies explode in my stomach. Since the return from the cabins I had only had Mai's text messages to keep me from imploding with frustration at being cooped up at home.

So here's my opportunity to escape and I'm grabbing onto it like it was my last chance at freedom. Even if I'm not sure if I regret what happened between me and Luca.

Using my secret sneak-out passage, I meet up with him.

"Hey," I say softly as I join him, praying to god Mom wouldn't decide to check my room.

"Hey," he replies, looking up from his phone. I'm amused to see Farmville on the screen before he shoves it into his pocket and straightens up.

"So where are we off to?" I ask as he sets off down the street at a leisurely pace. Even without him walking quickly, I still have to put in an effort to keep up: he has seriously long legs.

"We're having a sort of back to school party at the waterfall, and seeing as you seem to be our newest member, you're invited by default. I got sent to collect you."

I'm relieved that this isn't going to be an evening with just the two of us; I probably wouldn't be able to control myself if we got intimate. He hasn't even mentioned anything about _that night_ and I have no way of knowing if he even remembers it.

"Sounds like maybe I should have thought to bring a bikini." I'm trying a little bit too hard to be funny, but it pays off when I see Luca's smirk.

"As much as that sight would make me happy, it's not that kind of party," he says.

I smirk right back at him. I'd worn a bikini almost the entire time we'd been at the lake, but hearing him say that is definitely a big ego boost. I brush it off quickly before I can over-analyze it.

"I thought the trip to the lake was the back to school party?" I point out.

"Well, technically it was. This is just something a bit more traditional. And doesn't involve quite so much alcohol." He looks at me sideways and my face bursts into flames.

"Yeah, that wasn't one of my finest moments…" I try to sound as though I'm only talking about my alcohol intake, but really I'm still worried that he thinks of me as easy because of what happened.

It was definitely a mistake, as much as I might try to convince myself otherwise.

"I don't know, I think you were doing pretty well. It's really too bad Mai had to walk in when she did," Luca says slyly, that ever-present smirk ready to totally engulf his face.

I gape at him, totally unbelieving of what he just said. Thankfully I'm saved from having to think of something to say in response because we'd just reached the clearing.

"Serenity! You made it." Mai bounces up to me, smiling brightly as she envelops me in a hug. "Sorry there wasn't much warning, everyone's been heaps busy getting ready to go back to school. And we have another two new members here tonight."

We all look over to the huge bonfire in the center of the clearing. Everyone else is standing or sitting around it and it takes me a moment to notice who the newest additions are.

One is a boy about the same height as Mai, but looks much younger. The other is a girl about the same age, with the same bronze hair as Kailya.

"That's Caius Hart, Reina's younger brother. Aside from the hair, there's not much about them that would suggest they're siblings; they have totally different personalities. The girl is Acacia Steele, she's Kailya's younger sister," Mai tells me quietly as we walk towards them.

'Hey Cai, this is Serenity Oaken, the girl we were telling you about," Reina tells him when she notices me there.

He looks at me with what seems like a little awe, and it's kind of unnerving that he seems to be about Sky's age and yet he's taller than me. I have no idea what prompted his reaction, but I make myself smile. "Hey," I say, unsure whether I'm supposed to shake his hand or something.

"And this is Accy," Mai says, smiling at the younger girl. Acacia blushes shyly and hides behind her hair.

"Okay, I think that's enough awkwardness for tonight," Luca announces, clapping his hands together.

All eyes are drawn to him then as that strange change comes over him. The very air around him seems to change, becoming thicker and strangely enough I get a whiff of that heady cocktail that makes up his personal scent. My mind flashes back to the first night I'd met everyone, when I'd been wrapped in Luca's jacket.

"For a few of you, this is the first time out here with us before we start school for the year, so I'll keep it brief," Luca says, looking around at every one carefully.

I feel shivers go up my spine when his eyes meet mine. They're glowing emerald green, and I remember vaguely that same night less than two weeks ago when I'd seen those same eyes in the darkness, watching me.

"Some of us have been privileged enough to have been taught from a young age what our heritage means to us, and how best we can maintain our traditions for the next generation," he continues, "but some of us did not have that opportunity, either because they had no one left to teach them, or because their parents were too scared." Luca seems to look straight at me as he says this.

As weird as this is becoming – a total mood shift from how things had been at the cabins – I'm riveted. Maybe I'd finally get some answers as to why I used to feel so different to everyone at my old school, and why Mom is so tense around me these days.

Luca went on, "Sometimes it can be easier to explain things carefully, and wait for the right time, but I've always thought that being direct is best when it comes to getting to the point."

That's easy enough for him to say when I still have no idea what's going on. I feel a hand on my arm and look up into Cloud's eyes. "You may want to step back here with me," he says, gently pulling me to the back of the group. I'm now standing beside Mai and Caius.

"What's going on?" I ask, too confused to even consider being worried about their odd behavior.

"Just try not to freak out," Cloud says quietly, his hand still lightly wrapped around my arm.

I'm just about to open my mouth to ask another question when a terrible crunching sound, like a hundred bones being broken and then clicked back together, echoes through the clearing.

It's such a sickening sound, and I have no idea which direction it's coming from until I see Luca crouched on the ground, convulsing as the skin over his now-bare back ripples and grew.

"What the fuck?" I squeak, stepping back. The words are barely out of my mouth when a freaking _wolf_ seems to appear where Luca had been. I'm speechless, and Cloud's hand on my arm is the only thing stopping me from running screaming.

The wolf is _huge_ , covered in black fur with glowing emerald green eyes. Those eyes … is that Luca?

No way, this could not be possible. I'm frozen, uncomprehending.

"So cool," Caius breathes beside me, his eyes alight with joy. How is he not freaking out right now like I am? Acacia's eyes are huge, but it's in awe, not from fright.

Suddenly Cloud's face is in front of mine, and his fingers under my chin force me to look up at him. "Serenity, breathe," he tells me firmly.

I comply slowly, not really liking the forced eye-contact, but glad to have something to focus on.

Then came more and more of that sickening bone crunching, and I dread to think what I would find standing behind Cloud if he allowed me to look away.

"It's okay, Serenity," Mai says from beside me. "This is something that we'll be able to do soon enough, too."

What?

Nothing is making any sense. Never in my life have I heard anything about being able to turn into a wolf. Then, bits and pieces of Mom and Saraiyu's conversation last week come back to me.

 _"_ _If you hadn't moved – and I was against that from the beginning – she would have grown up knowing everything, just like the others."_

That's what Saraiyu had said, and this must have been what she was talking about. That meant Mom knew this whole time, and never told me. I'm furious then, and the sudden swell of anger inside my chest scares me.

"I'm okay," I whisper, pulling back slightly. Cloud stares at me for a moment longer before nodding and stepping aside, dropping his hand from my arm.

I can feel him and Mai still close to my side, but all I can see is a pack of wolves staring back at me.


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 _Thursday 28_ _th_ _August 2014_

I walk home alone, lost in my thoughts. My feelings are swirling around inside me, slowly building up into a hurricane. Anger is the most definite emotion, and it's the one that found me walking straight through the front door and towards the sitting room, where I know Mom and Saraiyu would be.

They're sitting in front of the TV, watching some re-run of America's Next Top Model. I barely know what I'm thinking, let alone what I'm planning on saying, but I don't care. I need answers.

"How could you never tell me?" My voice is hoarse, and I can feel angry tears welling up behind my eyes.

They both look at me in shock, and I couldn't care less that it was obvious I had been outside; my hair's a mess and my shoes are covered in mud and leaves.

The look on Mom's face tells me she knows exactly what's coming. "Where have you been?" she asks, standing slowly. Saraiyu follow suit, but she stays back a little.

"Why didn't you tell me that I'm going to turn into a freakin' _wolf_?" My voice turns shrill towards the end, and I see Mom wince. She knows what I'm talking about and at least has the decency to not pretend to be confused.

"I didn't know for sure… but I guess I should have seeing as you're a direct descendant…" Mom glances at Saraiyu, as if for help. The older woman just shrugs and gestures towards me. Mom won't be getting any help there.

She seems to pluck up every ounce of courage she has and sits back on the couch, beckoning for me to join her. I'm hesitant, but figure it's best if I try to be somewhat understanding.

"Look, I know that you're really confused right now, and I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you about this before. I guess I always thought it would be your father who would do this part when the time came." Sadness fills her face and a little bit of my anger dissipates.

This has to do with Dad? No wonder why she's been putting this off for so long; she hates talking about him. But now isn't the time to tell her that it's okay and she doesn't have to talk about it. I need answers, and this conversation is long overdue.

"Why? What does this have to do with Dad that you couldn't just tell me?" I demand, crossing my arms across my chest. I might look like a petulant child right now, but it's the only way to stop myself from fidgeting my hands and giving away how worked up I am.

"The way your father explained it to me was that the particular genes that allow the… change, only run in the families who are descended from the original seven who founded the town. There was some kind of curse that the native people put on them in revenge for taking the land and building on it without permission. A lot of that resentment went away after time, but every generation is still forced to go through this." She stops, the words that had been freely pouring out becoming too hard.

Saraiyu pipes up. "There are some families outside of the original seven who have been affected through marriages with these families, including your friend Maiara."

I'm beginning to grasp the vague shape of this strange tale, but it's still a lot to fathom. Especially when I'd grown up thinking this kind of stuff was just rubbish people wrote about to create a fictional escape for troubled teens. Clearly, I couldn't have been more wrong.

"Why haven't I changed yet, then? I got the impression that Mai and a couple of the others – Caius Hart and Acacia Steele – haven't either."

Mom frowns, probably not recognizing the last names, and most liking wondering if she needed to worry about either of them trying anything with me.

Saraiyu answers for her again. "Most don't change for the first time until after their seventeenth birthday. No one knows for sure if a child has the gene until at least their fifteenth year, when the pheromones and other hormones in the body begin changing and those who are already matured can sense these changes."

I take a moment just to think this through. So after I turn seventeen – barely a couple months away – I'll have to go through that downright unpleasant experience and won't have any choice in the matter.

This is turning out to be a really shitty day.

"I think I just need to go to bed and think about all this tomorrow," I say, standing. Mom and Saraiyu look worried, but I ignore them as I walk off.

"Good night, sweetheart," Mom calls after me, and the concern in her voice is enough to break me further.

Reaching my room, I go to chuck my phone on the night stand only to stop myself when I see I have a message from Cloud. I must have received it while I was talking to Mom.

 _Cloud: Hey r u ok?_

A reluctant smile breaks free from my tense expression. It's nice to know he's concerned about me after helping me through tonight.

 _Serenity: Yeah, Mom finally told me everything_

 _Cloud: Do you wanna come over tomorrow? I can help fill in some more blanks_

I'm really, really tempted, so I think his proposal over.

 _Serenity: Would it be okay if I come over now instead?_

I send my reply and sit on the edge of my bed waiting for the verdict. The final message I get from Cloud is a smiley face emoji and a 'sure', making me smile again. He's turning out to be the best friend I'd never had.

Honestly, I thought I'd be closer to Mai by now, but I have so much more in common with Cloud that the connection between us is a lot easier to navigate. I'm still figuring out how to even behave like a girl, let alone how to be friends with one.

For the second time tonight I sneak out of the house. The air outside is colder than before, and I shiver in my sweater. Hopefully Cloud had a heater going, or at least a really warm blanket I could snuggle under.

A surprise is waiting for me when I walk through the garden gate and step out onto the street. Cloud is leaning against the fence, waiting for me, in much the same way Luca had been only hours before.

I stop in my tracks, surprised into immobility. "Hey, I didn't expect you to come pick me up," I say, wondering how on earth he could have even gotten here so quickly.

"I was on my way back from the clearing when I was texting you, so I thought I'd just come over," he explains, pushing himself off the wall to stand in front of me. His pale blonde hair is glowing in the light from the moon, creating a halo around his head.

His eyes twinkle from under his hair, sending shivers through me. I'm startled when I feel his hand touch mine, our fingers weaving together as he pulls me down the street after him. Warmth shoots up my arm, threading its way through my chilled limbs.

It only takes us about ten minutes to get to his house, and I'm a little nervous about running into Luca. After tonight, it was hard to even think about him without remembering the sickening sound of his bones elongating as he Changed.

"Uhm, will Luca mind me being here so late?" I ask tentatively as Cloud opens the front door. He ushers me into the dark hallway as he shuts the door behind us.

"He's over at Avery's with the other guys, so don't worry," he assures me, once again taking my hand in his to lead us through the dark house.

I almost ask how he can see so well without any light, but feel like slapping myself in the face when I realize. Obviously being able to see in the dark was a perk of our shared condition.

The stairs were a little harder to navigate, and I almost trip a couple times, but Cloud kept hold of my hand and made sure to go slowly. I thought about telling him to just turn the bloody lights on so I wouldn't break my neck, but there's something about walking around in a dark house with this remarkable boy holding my hand that makes me feel adventurous and daring.

After being such a polite, responsible girl my whole life, I can't resist the feeling like I'm breaking the rules. Even if Mom hadn't specifically said I wasn't allowed out at night, it was definitely implied.

When we arrive in Cloud's bedroom doorway, he tells me to wait there while he turns a light on. Just as I'm about to ask why, I hear a loud thud, followed by Cloud cursing and I can't help but laugh. Trying to muffle my giggles behind my hand, I wait in the dark as I hear him making his way across the room again.

The lamp on his bedside table flares to life, illuminating the room. Gazing around at the destruction, I understand why he told me to wait at the door. Even a ninja could have tripped and broken their neck on all the stuff covering the floor.

Cloud's grumbling to himself and massaging his thigh, where I'm assuming he crashed into something. "I'm glad you find this funny," he mutters to me. His mouth twitches into a half-smile, though, so I don't feel so bad about the giggles still escaping my lips.

"I thought you could see in the dark," I say, choking back more laughter at the look on his face.

He snorts. "Probably better than you at the moment, but I'm no owl. Clearly navigating my room was too much even for me." We both look around at the mess, and I'm amused to see the blush tingeing his cheeks. "Sorry about the mess, I – uh, had trouble finding something to wear," he says by way of explanation.

"Don't worry about it," I tell him as I make my way to his couch to sit down. "My room looks basically the same right now." I smile up at him as he comes to plop down beside me. What I said was pretty much the truth, except Cloud had a lot more stuff than I did at the moment.

"So what do you wanna do? We can talk about stuff, or maybe watch a movie or something…" Cloud scratched the back of his neck nervously, and I couldn't help noticing how adorable he was doing that.

"A movie sounds good," I say quickly. I'm so not in the mood to talk about tonight.

"Awesome," he says, jumping up to turn the TV and whatever else on, already talking about a bunch of new movies he had that he hadn't seen yet and asking if I wanted to give them a go.

I agree to the first one he mentioned, having no idea what it was, but knowing that anything was good enough to keep my mind off tonight's events.

 _Friday 29_ _th_ _August 2014_

I wake to the smell of deodorant and toast. _Guy_ deodorant and _Nutella_ toast. Mmmm.

Opening my eyes, the first thing that filters through my brain is that this is not my bed. Mine has a fabric canopy overhead, and this one most definitely does not have that.

Beginning to panic, I sit bolt upright, very nearly upsetting a giant grey furball that had been perched beside me. The cat hisses at me angrily, jumping out of the way from the blanket I flung back. I stare at its retreating figure for a moment, beyond confused, when I hear a familiar chuckle.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Cloud says, grinning at me from the couch.

Cloud.

This is his bedroom.

Holy shit, I fell asleep on his couch last night. And, I'm in his bed?

A dreaded thought comes to mind and I peer down at myself, relief washing through me when I still have last night's clothes on, minus my shoes and socks. I berate myself for thinking Cloud would do anything when I wasn't conscious and willing.

"Uh, what–?" I ask, cautiously getting out of the bed in case there were any other demon cats lurking about. I don't know what exactly I was trying to ask, but it all fled my mind when my feet touched the floor and I recoiled quickly. And I thought my floors were freezing in the morning!

"There's some socks of mine on the night stand," Cloud tells me, still smiling from his spot on the couch. His hair is damp, presumably from a recent shower, and I narrow my eyes at him when I see the chocolate-smeared toast being brought to his lips.

I hope he's planning on sharing.

I find the socks he mentioned and yank them on, glad they were so warm and thick. This time when I go to stand, there isn't an icicle lancing through me at the contact, and walk over to join Cloud on the couch. I notice a large plate of toast, as well as two cups of coffee and an assortment of other stuff, like fruit and a bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Geez, that's a lot of food," I say, my mouth watering at the sight of it all.

"Yeah, I tend to eat a lot and didn't know what you would want," he says, blushing slightly under his tan. It's the cutest thing ever, seeing a guy embarrassed like that.

I bite my lip, my heart swelling in my chest. This guy is seriously more than I deserve. "I don't even know where to begin."

"Well there's coffee, and I got some milk and sugar separately because I didn't know how you like it. Help yourself to whatever else." Cloud finishes off his toast in two bites, leaning over to grab some another plain piece and piling scrambled eggs on top.

It's as I'm halfway through my own Nutella toast when I remember that I hadn't exactly been supposed to leave last night and I had ended up sleeping here. Mom was so going to kill me.

Digging my phone out from between the couch cushions, I dread the amount of messages and calls I'm destined to have. It takes me a moment after unlocking my phone to realize that the only unopened message I have is from Sky.

Confused as hell, I open the text.

 _Sky: Told Mom you left early this morning to hang out with your friends. She just about had a heart attack when she checked your room and found it empty. You soooo owe me_

I gape at the little black letters on the screen, wondering if it was some weird joke that she was pulling on me. But there was no other reason why I wouldn't have a million missed calls from Mom, so I'm forced to admit that maybe my little sister isn't so much of a brat as I'd thought.

"What's wrong?"

I glance up and meet Cloud's worried gaze. "I just realized that maybe my sister isn't the spawn of Satan after all," I say, laughing to myself at my own joke.

He gives me a half-smile. "I'm sure if she's anything like you she can't be that bad," he says seriously. My face heats at the compliment and I'm at a loss for what to say.

I almost jump out of my skin when a moment later my phone started ringing. Mum's photo pops up on the screen and I hesitate before answering. Cloud gestures for me to go ahead and take it when I show him the screen.

"Hello?"

"Uh, good morning, sweetheart," Mom's voice filters through the phone, sounding nervous. "Skylah said you left early this morning and I'd been hoping to speak with you about your birthday party."

I forgot about the party. This is going to be just wonderful.

"Oh yeah, uhm, we don't have to do that, you know," I say, acutely aware of Cloud's presence beside me. He's doing a good job of pretending he's more interested in the food than my conversation, but I know if it was me I'd be listening in.

"No, no," Mom says, "it's the only chance we'll get to celebrate your birthday because you'll be away at school on the day, and it's an important year for you."

I wince at her words. An important year is a bit of an understatement considering on my birthday I'd be turning into a giant dog.

"Yeah, I guess," are the only words I manage to force out.

"Would tonight be okay? Seeing as you'll be leaving Sunday and all…" she pauses, nervous again. "And I was going to leave the guest list up to you, seeing as you seem to have made some new friends in the last couple of weeks."

I don't know what to say, so I just agree with her and get off the phone as quickly as possible. After an awkward goodbye, I hang up and slump down into the couch with a sigh.

Cloud's watching me with an odd expression. "You seem kind of… tense. Is everything okay between you and your Mom?"

I look up at him through the wisps of hair that had fallen over my face. "Yeah, I guess I just don't really know what to say to her after last night." My mind shies away from the memory. The idea was just preposterous, but I'm beginning to realize that there isn't much I can do about it.

"I understand that, but I also get where she's coming from. I didn't really know what to say around you when I realized you didn't know about… well, everything." He gives me that lopsided grin I'm growing to love, and I smile back at him.

"Feel like going to a seriously lame birthday party tonight?" I ask, half expecting him to refuse.

"Of course," he says instead, his grin growing wider.

Needless to say, my 'birthday party' was just about as awkward as you could imagine. I invited each member of my new group of friends, and surprisingly they all actually turned up. I'd returned home not long after Mom's phone call, with a promise from Cloud that he'd see me at the party.

I arrive home to find Mom in the kitchen, frantically flipping through a recipe book. There are a dozen others scattered over the benches, and I laugh to myself.

Mom's never been the greatest cook when she strays from the usual dinner meals, and I can imagine her panic over having to cater for a bunch of teenagers.

Saraiyu is trying to reason with her as I walk in, and doing her best to stop Mom from cooking enough for a whole army. "They're teenagers, Jayda, not judges on MasterChef," she's saying as she tries subtly putting away some of the recipe books.

Mom's having none of it. "They eat a lot don't they? So I'll need to make more than I usually would… and how many are there going to be?" She's looking at me now, and I'm frozen for a second when I process that she's talking to me.

"Uh, I think there's gonna be like eleven or twelve?" I say, unsure if half of them will even turn up.

Relief fills Mom's face and I smother a smile at her reaction. "Oh. I thought there was more than that for some reason," she confesses, surveying the piles of books in front of her with fresh eyes.

I leave her to finish fussing over needless details and go upstairs to my room. Where were we going to host everyone? I'm sure they'd fit in my room and everything, but I don't really want near-strangers in the same room where I sleep.

Turns out I don't need to worry for long when Sky sticks her head around my door. "Mom wants you to clean up the bottom floor of the library for the party," she says, not even bothering with a 'hello'.

I raise my eyebrows at her. "The library? Really?"

"Yeah. She said it never gets used anyway and she trusts that no one will start a bonfire or anything in there." Sky shuffles into the room, glancing around at the chaos. Needless to say I had lot of packing to do before I left on Sunday.

I snort, knowing that Sky was paraphrasing what Mom had actually said, but I let it slide. "Are you gonna make an appearance?" I ask her, sifting through my closet to find something casual but nice to wear tonight.

"Sure, I guess," she says, and I'm surprised to note that she sounds nervous.

"I invited a couple of the girls' younger siblings that are roughly your age, so you might get along with them," I offer helpfully.

"Will they be going to the same school as me?" she asks. "Or are they going to that boarding school, too?"

I pause, trying to remember if anyone last night had actually said how old Caius and Acacia are. "Uh, I'm not actually sure," I admit, and feel sad when her face falls. "But even if they are going to the boarding school, they might know other kids who aren't."

My words aren't much more than a vague hope, but Sky smiles at me appreciatively for trying nonetheless. It's a rare moment between us, where we're not fighting or only conversing in sarcastic comments.

"Wanna help me find something to wear?" I ask her tentatively, hoping to God that I'm not going too far with this newfound truce.

She brightens considerably. "Uh, duh!" she exclaims, and lunges forward to help rifle through my rack of clothes.

The first to arrive are Cloud and Luca. I hardly know which of them I'm more comfortable looking at after the past couple weeks, so usher them into the library with as little eye contact as possible.

Mom enlisted the help of Saraiyu and I to do the food, and I think she's throwing so much energy into this party because she feels guilty about the whole boarding school thing. Neither of us have mentioned last night, and I have no intention of bringing that up anytime soon.

There's only a few tense moments with Cloud and Luca where the three of us don't really know what to say to each other, but thankfully the doorbell rings again.

I rush to answer it, opening the door to find Mai, Jesse, Mason and Victorie standing there. "Hey," I greet them as I let them in.

Just as I've closed the door and started to show them to the library, the doorbell rings again. I answer it again to find the rest of the group there. Reina offers me a wide smile as she and Caius step past me. Kailya, Avery and Acacia are next, and their smiles are more polite than friendly.

Doing a quick mental calculation I decide everyone I'd invited is here, so it's safe to close the door again. I glance around the front yard first though, just in case.

Joining my guests in the hall, I lead them into the library, where Cloud and Luca are already munching on the snacks.

I'd asked Mai to bring some music, seeing as I haven't a clue what everyone likes listening to. Personally, I'm more of a whatever's on the radio kind of girl.

All in all, it turns out to be a fun night. We listen to music and watch some movies while eating some of the food Mom spent hours on. Sky talked a lot with Caius and Accy, and I feel better knowing that I've made the effort to include her more. I feel closer to everyone by the end of it, but for some reason I'm still relieved when they leave.

I guess it's gonna take me some time to get used to actually having friends.


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 _Saturday 30_ _th_ _August 2014_

I get out of bed miserable after what seems like only a few hours' sleep. My dreams had been plagued with snarling jaws filled with sharp white teeth and the overwhelming sensation that something terrible was going to happen. It takes me a moment to remember I'm leaving for Heathstone Academy tomorrow and my mood plummets further.

Dragging myself out of bed after staring at the canopy of my bed for a good twenty minutes, I try to find some clothes to wear. Bleached, ripped jeans, a baggy over-large grey sweater and my favorite canvas shoes were going to be the order of the day.

As I check the time on my phone I see the messages from Cloud last night and smile. I guess at least I know what I can do to get my mind off of things for a little while.

Heading downstairs, I'm not looking forward to seeing Mom. Last night's party was good and everything, but I still haven't worked out exactly how I feel about her keeping such a huge secret from me, and I want some time to myself before being confronted about it.

Luckily for me it's Saraiyu and Sky who are in the kitchen when I walk in.

"Good morning," Saraiyu greets me while Sky just glances at me and away again.

"Morning," I mutter, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl and inspecting it. "I'm gonna head to Cloud's for the morning. I'll be back after lunch sometime if you wanna tell Mom for me." I'm not talking to anyone in particular, but Saraiyu nods understandingly as Sky shoots me a quizzical look.

Taking a banana with me, I leave the house quickly. It's chilly outside, and I almost go back for a jacket but the thought of running into Mom forces me to continue to Cloud's. I feel terrible about avoiding her, but I just can't deal with it right now.

There aren't many people out and about as I walk the streets, most people probably dusting off their heaters or cleaning out fire places. Winter starts early up here in the mountains, and I heard someone say the other day that it's going to be a harsh one, so everyone's already preparing for it.

This time at the Hale's house, I recognize both Luca's Jeep and Cloud's Camaro among the cars scattered around the yard. Half of them are partially pulled apart or on blocks because the wheels are missing. I idly wonder which of them is the backyard mechanic, and remember that Cloud said he'd worked at the mechanic place in town. Maybe it's both of them?

I shrug the random thought off and knock on the door. At first I can't hear anything and am about to knock a second time when I hear footsteps. It's Luca who opens the door and the momentary look of surprise makes me smile. It's nice to know that I can surprise him.

I haven't forgotten that night at the cabins – not by a long shot – but I have too much else to worry about to be thinking about how embarrassed I am or how big of a mistake it was.

"Serenity," he says, and I suppose that he's using my actual name because he hadn't been expecting me and his flirtatious nickname has slipped his mind.

"Hey, is Cloud home?" I ask, getting straight to the point. I don't want to be standing here once Luca regains his smirk and the personality that goes along with it.

I'm not sure if it's my imagination or not, but an expression that looks very much like hurt flashes across his face. He steps back into the dim hallway to let me by, so I don't get a chance to look closer before it disappears. "Yeah, he's in his room. Do you remember the way?"

"Yeah, thanks," I say, and set off down the hallway. I feel self-conscious as hell, feeling his gaze on the back of my head. As soon as I'm upstairs I feel like I can breathe properly again. I take a few calming breaths before finding Cloud's door and knocking on it.

I can hear the strained tones of music through the mahogany door and hope he'd be able to hear me knocking. Thankfully I'm saved having to plan past that when he opens the door.

"Serenity!" he beams down at me, and the difference between his greeting and Luca's is on such opposite ends of inviting that it's almost funny. For a moment I think he's going to hug me, but seems to think better of it and steps back to let me past instead.

I don't know what to think of that. Do I want him to hug me? Do I want him the way I thought I'd wanted Luca? I stomp that thought into the dust. No way is this the time to think about my attraction to these two breathtaking male specimens.

"Hey, sorry I didn't text you first, kinda left the house in a hurry." It's a poor excuse, but there's understanding in his eyes.

"That's cool, I totally get it. D'you want something to eat?" he asks, gesturing towards his coffee table. I almost gasp when I see the piles of food laid out there. There's a tray of diced fruit, a plate of sandwiches, a family size Hawaiian pizza, a bowl of Doritos and dip – with half of the chips made into nachos – a pitcher of orange juice and another one with chilled water.

"Jesus," I say, staring at it all.

"Yeah, I guess I tend to eat a lot before going back to school, and I was kinda hoping you would be by so I got some extra for you." He smiles at me tentatively, and it's so completely different from his usual quiet, contained self that I have to smile back. He's so beautiful, and I so very much want to reach up and brush away the hair that hangs across his eyes.

"Thanks, that pizza does looks amazing," I say, mouth almost watering at the sight of it. It's probably the sweetest thing ever, the fact he'd been hoping I would come over today. Despite us being in a bedroom and it not exactly being the most traditional breakfast spread, it's almost romantic.

"Well help yourself, I'm just going to jump through the shower quickly," he says, going to a chest of drawers and rifling through it for clean clothes.

I feel slightly awkward about being left in here by myself, but I agree anyway and settle myself onto the couch.

"I'll only be a few minutes," he says, ducking into the adjoining bathroom.

 _Alrighty then_ , I think to myself and try my best not to picture him naked. I somewhat succeed, only imagining him shirtless instead. Helping myself to a slice of pizza, I take a bite and sink back into the couch in bliss. This is probably the best Hawaiian I've had in years, since the time Mom and I found this cute little pizzeria in Santa Monica, but after only a few months of being regular customers, they went bankrupt and closed down.

I hear the shower in the bathroom start up and settle in to wait.

My eyes flutter open and for a moment I'm disorientated in the dim light. Where am I? It takes me a moment to process the warm weight over me, which turns out to be a crochet blanket. I can hear the soft buzz of the TV turned almost to mute.

I sit up slowly as I realize I'd fallen asleep on Cloud's couch. Again.

He glances over at me and smiles when he sees I'm awake. "Hey, you fell asleep while I was in the shower," he tells me, correctly assuming that I'm still a little dazed from my nap.

"How long was I asleep for?" I ask, tucking my legs up under me as I stretch my arms.

"A few hours, I see you made fast work of the pizza before you fell asleep, though," he says, chuckling.

I blush. I'd eaten probably six slices, and only left him the remaining two because I started to feel bad. "It was really good," I mumble.

"That's okay," he says, grinning. "It's always nice to see a girl with a decent appetite."

"I'm probably going to have to start jogging or something to keep fit if I start eating like this all the time," I grumble, not looking forward to that prospect one bit.

"Once you change for the first time you won't have to worry about that; your body is using that much energy that just about any body fat you have is burned away in the first few months unless you keep replacing it."

I gulp. Each time I think of the horrifically sickening sound of crunching bone, and the idea of my small body becoming something so _huge_ , I feel ill.

"I'm not so sure I'm looking forward to any aspect of it, no matter the health benefits," I tell him, keeping my eyes on the TV.

I feel his fingers grasp my chin and turn my head, forcing me to look at him. He's closer than he'd been before, his breath warm on my face. "It's nothing to be scared of," he tells me softly, releasing my chin only to lace his fingers through mine. "I was scared, too, when it came time to change for the first time, but it was an amazing experience and not something I'll ever forget."

His words register, but I can barely think with him this close. My heart rate kicks up a few notches, leaving me breathless. I bite my lip, swallowing hard.

I'm not thinking properly, my mind like a broken record, stuck on his perfectly plump lips coming closer and closer.

I should stop him, but I can't bring myself to do it.

His lips press against mine softly, caressing and biting gently on my bottom lip. I gasp against his mouth, taken by surprise by the pleasant shivers spreading through my body. He pulls me closer, a firm arm around my waist, the other hand cupping my cheek.

I'm adrift on a sea of endorphins, basking in the feelings that I didn't even know I had. He's the first to pull back, his breathing slightly erratic, and now my mind is free to start thinking again, I'm remembering a very similar situation only a few days ago, with a different shade of green eyes staring back at me.

"Sorry," Cloud breathes, his expression slightly stricken. "I didn't mean to take advantage or anything, you just looked so beautiful and I couldn't help myself." He flushes with shame, and my heart contracts. I feel bad for him, and reach out to clasp his hand.

"It's okay, I just wasn't expecting it," I say honestly, hoping that I haven't inadvertently scared him off kissing me again. I almost hate myself for doing this with him after what happened with Luca, but I've put that down to too much alcohol. It isn't like he's given me any indication that he wants anything to do with me since then, so screw him.

Cloud's an amazing guy, and someone I can really imagine myself being with. I didn't intend to even start a relationship, but clearly my heart has other plans, and I won't say no if he ever asks me out.

"I wasn't really expecting it either, to be honest," he says shyly.

He doesn't kiss me again, but I still have hope when he holds onto my hand for the rest of the afternoon as we watch movies together.

Finally, the sun is sinking below the tree line outside as the movie we're watching finishes. I stand, stretching.

"I guess I'd better go, got lots to do before tomorrow," I say, pulling a face.

Cloud stands, and he's so much taller that I literally have to tilt my head all the way back when he's close like this. He seems hesitant about something, but after a moment slowly leans down and kisses me.

I'm a little taken aback again, but respond quickly, kissing him back perhaps a little more enthusiastically than necessary. I wrap my arms around his neck, while his wind around my waist, the kiss deepens. It's even better than the first time.

Something deep inside my belly tightens, my legs shaky, and I'm glad for his arms around me because I might fall to the floor otherwise. Even with the passion being poured into the kiss from both sides, I can feel Cloud holding back slightly and it makes me smile. He's such the gentleman, not wanting to make me feel like he's overwhelming me and still allowing me the opportunity to back out if I want to.

Oh how I want to stay like this forever, but I really do need to go. Reluctantly I pull back, breathless. "I have to go," I whisper, arms still around his neck. I don't want to let go.

"I know," he whispers back. "I'll see you on the bus tomorrow." His words make my heart swell, and suddenly I can't wait to leave for the Academy.


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 _Sunday 31_ _st_ _August 2014_

I'm nervous as hell.

Mom is just about in tears as she stands with me out the front of the post office. We're standing with the rest of the group and their families, all of us waiting for the bus that will be taking us to our year at Heathstone Academy.

I'd been up most of last night finishing packing, having spent all of yesterday with Cloud. I feel so awkward looking at either of them, both only a meter away from me. My mixed feelings for them both are leaving me reeling each and every time they so much as glance my way.

With Luca I feel intensely embarrassed yet at the same time wanting to check my reflection to make sure I look okay, leaving me a blubbering mess. Cloud, on the other hand, is so gentle and sweet, and I feel comfortable around him even if his soft kisses are enough to turn my legs to jelly.

I have no idea what I'm going to do about it, but I have a feeling things will resolve themselves with time.

The bus arrives and Mom wraps me in a bear hug. "I'm going to miss you so much, honey," she whispers in my ear. I hug her back, still a little uncertain with her but forcing myself to try to make her feel better.

"I'll call whenever I can," I promise her, stooping to collect my suitcases as she releases me.

"You'd better," she threatens weakly, her voice choked with tears.

I hand my suitcases to the driver, who is loading the undercarriage of the bus. He gestures me towards the door, indicating that I get on.

After giving Mom one last, lingering hug, I follow Mai onto the bus, thinking that I'll probably sit next to her.

Cloud clearly has other plans, however, because as I'm drawing level with his seat – heart fluttering with nerves at seeing him after yesterday – he grabs hold of my hand and pulls me past his legs and into the seat next to him.

Mai looks behind her, confused as to where I'd gone, a slow grin spreading over her face when she sees who I'm now sitting next to. She winks at me and continues on her way down the aisle.

"Hey," Cloud greets me, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Hi," I reply, laughing. When we first met I got the impression that he's a fairly closed off, reluctant person, but now here is this bright, charming guy. The difference is startling. I'm glad I've gotten to know him enough for him to open up to me. It makes me happy knowing I have someone like him in my life, whether we're on kissing terms or not.

"Did you sleep well?" he asks casually, keeping a casual eye on who is still boarding the bus.

I deliberate telling him the dreams I had about vicious wolves and beautiful moss green eyes morphing into piercing emerald ones. Probably best not to bring any of that up. "Not really. I was pretty nervous about today and it took a while to fall asleep." That's definitely true enough.

He looks at me, a cute little crease between his eyebrows, not quite a frown. I can tell he's worried, so I twist my fingers through his and squeeze his hand, smiling up at him. He seems a little placated, but I know he's not going to forget about it.

As I look back toward the front of the bus, Luca appears in the doorway. Our eyes meet immediately and an awkward tension shoots through me, a feeling like I'm betraying him. I shove the emotion aside as quickly as it rears its ugly head, but as Luca's eyes drift to Cloud next to me, then to our entwined fingers, my heart falls into my stomach.

I can't read his expression, but as he completely ignores us both as he passes, he doesn't exactly look happy. I feel guilty, and I'm not entirely sure why. It's not like he and I are together – and neither am I with Cloud, technically – so there's nothing stopping me from holding hands with someone else.

This is getting confusing. If I'd been sitting alone, I would have no doubt spent the next five hours dwelling on every moment of that horrid encounter. But Cloud, who's been oblivious to the whole exchange as he fiddles with his iPod with his free hand, is the perfect person to share a long trip with.

"Wanna share?" he asks lifting an earbud up, indicating he's talking about music.

"Sure," I tell him, pushing aside my cringe over using someone else's earphones.

As it turns out, we have a fairly similar taste in music, and as the bus starts and we begin the journey, we find ourselves in a deep conversation about the group All Time Low.

I think fell asleep somewhere along the way, because I open my eyes to the sun high in the sky and the view outside completely changed. We're still in the mountains, but we are much higher up, the view out the left side of the bus is completely open air as we follow the winding road.

"Holy shit," I whisper, well and truly awed. The view of tree tops and other mountains is amazing, the million different shades of early autumn turning everything into a spectacular palette of oranges, greens and blues.

"We're almost there," Cloud tells me softly. "You've been asleep for a few hours." He has that concerned look again, and again I take hold of his hand to try to comfort him.

"I can't believe how beautiful it is," I say, turning back to look out the window.

"I know what you mean. Kind of surreal, isn't it?" I can't tell what the emotion in his voice is, and when I look at him, his expression is just as unreadable. After a moment he smiles softly and any trace of that unknown emotion is gone.

Opening my messenger bag, which is doubling as my overnight bag, I make sure I haven't dropped anything.

Pushing aside my sketchbook and pencil case, I dig through the underwear and pj's, making sure I have my toiletry bag and make up case. I barely ever use make up, but I'm of a mind to ask Mai for lessons on how to use it properly.

I blush slightly as I realize a pair of my underwear is showing just as I remember Cloud is sitting right beside me. They aren't anything special by any stretch of the imagination, but it makes me think of the much more revealing underwear I have in my suitcase under the bus.

I try stopping my brain from leaping on to its next thought, but obviously it isn't going to be listening to me today.

 _Will we ever be intimate enough that he would see them?_

Disgusted with myself for jumping a thousand steps ahead, I close my bag and clutch it to my chest. Now I'm mortified at my own thoughts on top of being nervous about being literally around the corner from my new school.

"We'll have the rest of today to get settled in and look around, then tomorrow is orientation and more time to explore, then Tuesday we start classes," Cloud tells me, completely unaware of my internal battle with myself.

"What are the classes like?" I ask, suddenly curious about something I haven't really thought of before.

"Most of them are pretty much the same as any other school – you'll find out all of that tomorrow. There are a few classes that you wouldn't find at most schools, and I can't wait to see your face when you find that out." He grins at me, tugging on a loose strand of my hair.

All I do is shoot him a dirty look, as I fight to not react to his touch. I mean, god that boy looks damn good with his hair all mussed and sexy. Yet again I have to remind myself that I shouldn't be attracted to him at all, considering the confused feelings I still have for his brother. I can barely even admit to myself that Cloud might be the reason for bringing the lacy underwear and shiny high heels innocently sitting in my suitcases.

A few minutes later, we're passing through a pair of giant wrought-iron gates along a wide paved driveway. "This is known as the Path of Warriors, because of the warrior men and women almost a hundred years ago who were going off to war and lined up on the stairs of the castle and marched all the way through here and down the mountain. A few decades of romanticizing war gave it its name." He rolls his eyes, clearly not a fan.

Tall oaks stand on either side of the driveway in neat rows, their leaves awesome orange hues, making me itch to paint them. They stretch on for what seems to be miles, and by the time they open out onto a sweeping circular driveway, I'm hooked. A huge elaborate fountain stands in the middle of the space, cascading sparkling water and sending spray up into the air.

The main building is gorgeous, to say the least, and it awes me completely. The sweeping, three-story tall former-castle, has climbing vines slowly taking over its walls, merely adding to the enchanting feel of it all. I see the roofs of a couple other buildings further back on either side, and my curiosity is peaked.

There are already a couple of other buses parked around the circle, with kids waiting to collect their luggage. I turn to Cloud. "How many other kids go here?" I ask, surprised.

He shrugs. "Hard to tell because it changes every year, but maybe a couple hundred. Some of them drive up to nine hours to get here."

Impressive. Who would have thought that there could be so many teenagers in America who could turn into huge furry wolves?

The bus comes to a halt behind one of the others and the driver indicates that everyone can get off. I wait for Cloud to get up first and when he does he clasps my hand to pull me out behind him. Tingles shoot up my arm and I blush. I find myself glancing around to see if anyone notices, but they're all making sure they have their stuff.

We jump off the bus and Cloud lets go of my hand to go grab his bags. I'm kind of relieved. I'm not even sure what's happening between us, and I definitely do not want others throwing in their opinions.

I collect my suitcases, turning down Cloud's offer to carry one for me. Waiting for everyone else to get their luggage is nerve-wreaking. I can feel the stares of people from the other buses as they no doubt assess every inch of me. There's probably a big floating sign above my head saying that I don't belong here.

Caius and Acacia are new here also, and you can just tell by looking at them that they're just as nervous as me. It makes me feel a little better, knowing I'm not the only one. Once I think about it I realize there will most likely be new students from other towns as well, and my stress levels lower a little more.

Walking up the marble steps to the foyer door, it's impossible not to feel like a princess who's coming home. "The original castle has stood on these grounds for hundreds of years, and was once owned by Lady Agatha Heathstone, who had the bright idea of turning it into a school for girls," Cloud tells me as he walks beside me. "It was passed down through the generations and was eventually changed to a girls and boys school, when things like that were popular. Then it became a super-secret private school for members of particular families and communities. The grounds are kept immaculate, no plant or vine left to grow unruly. Small pavilions are spaced around the gardens, allowing us to study outside if we want. They could be good as a picnic location, too, on a nice day."

He looks at me sideways, gauging my reaction. I flush. Is that supposed to be a subtle way of asking me on a date? I bite my lip. "Sounds magical," I say, picturing it in my head and wanting it very very much.

We step through the massive open oak doors into the foyer, and the inside is just as beautiful as the out; a mixture of modern and old, creating a space that you can love. It's going to be my new home for the next few years and I'm glad to see that I'm going to be surrounded by people I know and like, in a gorgeous place like this. I really can't ask for much more.

On either side of the foyer and straight ahead of us are matching oak doors to the ones we just came through. A huge sweeping staircase leads to an upper gallery hall, with doors at either end of that. Cloud continues his tour guide speech.

"To the left is the dining hall, with the bookstore and café on the other side, which can also be accessed from outside. On the right is the wing holding the classrooms, greenhouse and biology lab. Upstairs above the dining hall is the ballroom, for special occasions and formal-type things. Opposite on the right is the second story of classrooms, and on the final level above that is the teachers quarters and the headmistress' office."

So much to take in. Everything is fairly simple to follow, but I have a bad feeling that I might get lost. Cloud must have seen the worry on my face. "Don't worry, I'll draw you a map tonight and we'll have a proper look around after lunch." He smiles down at me and I feel comforted knowing he's looking out for me.

"So we just settle ourselves in?" I ask, not having seen one adult the entire time – other than the bus drivers.

He nods absentmindedly as we walk towards the doors directly ahead of us. "The older students are supposed to show the younger ones around, because usually we've all grown up together so it's easier for the teachers to just leave us to ourselves. They're generally pretty busy getting ready for the first week."

"That makes sense." I'm struggling a little with my suitcases, but I refuse to ask Cloud for help with them. Until I know exactly where we stand, I'm not going to act the damsel-in-distress to make him feel like the knight in shining armor. As tempting as it sounds, I'm going to stand firm in my resolve.

We step out the doors into sunlight again, and I'm once again overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. There's a single-story building that Cloud tells me is the library, study hall and post office, that sits in the middle of a huge courtyard that he says is where most students hang out after classes. I can see outdoor tables and chairs set up strategically around the place, and understand how it would be nice to sit outside and study on nice days.

"The girls' dorm is over there to the left," he says, pointing to where he meant. The edge of the two-story dorm building pokes out around the edge of the main one. "I'm not allowed in there, but Mai will be more than happy to show you around." Mai has just bounced up to us, having been off doing something while Cloud gave me the mini-tour. Her bags have disappeared, so I assume she's put them in her room already.

"We're gonna be roommates!" she squeals, smiling hugely as she hugs me one-sided. I'm relieved. I'd worried I'd be with one of the older girls who I'm still not really sure about. Or even worse: someone I don't know at all.

"Thank god," I say, laughing.

"Well I'm gonna go find my room," Cloud interjects before Mai says anything else. "Meet me back here in an hour for lunch?" He looks hopeful, making my heart flutter.

"See you then," I assure him as I let Mai drag me away. He heads in the opposite direction, off to another two-story building a bit further away.

The door to the dorm building is propped open, and I notice the keypad on the inside wall next to it. I ask Mai about it as she leads me through the main room to a reception desk on the far side.

"It's just for precaution," she tells me confidently. I'm not really sure what that means but I nod anyway.

An older woman looks up from behind the desk as we approach. Her cocked eyebrow makes me nervous, but Mai just smiles sweetly at her.

"This is Serenity Oaken," she tells the woman. I'm confused and about to ask what she's doing when I notice the woman flicking through a clipboard of names. Oh, this must be how they check in to make sure everyone's here.

"No problem, Maiara," the woman tells her, then directs her gaze at me, but continues talking to Mai. "Please ensure you instruct her in the dorm rules and procedures. If she gets into trouble, you will also be held accountable." I gulp as she fixes us both with a stern stare, then waves us off.

"Cool, let's go" Mai grabs hold of one of my suitcases and takes off again. The room is beginning to fill up slowly, and I accidently bump into two other girls who glare at me before I find myself in a near-empty corridor.

"We're on this floor, because we're only in grade two. The older girls get rooms upstairs," Mai tells me as we walk further, passing doors on both sides. They all have brass numbers nailed onto them, with a chrome letter afterwards.

"What number are we?" I ask.

"39S" she replies, basically skipping down the hall with my suitcase in tow.

Finally she comes to a halt in front of the right door. Opening it with a flourish, she beckons me inside.

The room is fairly simple, two king single beds (one on each side of the room), with a desk, tall boy and large chest of drawers each, there's basically everything we need.

Mai's stuff – two suitcases, her huge backpack, and her handbag – had been tipped onto the bed on the left, so I figure she'd claimed that as hers. I can't say I mind, seeing as both are exactly the same.

"Welcome to casa Oaken-Hughes," she announces dramatically, lifting my suitcase onto what is going to be my bed for the year. "This room is bigger than the one I had last year by myself."

I'm glad that Mai is such a chatter-box; I don't think I could've maintained a conversation at the moment if she wasn't. Minimal effort on my behalf is required, so I just nod or say "Oh okay" when necessary.

"We're allowed to decorate the rooms however we want – to a certain extent, of course. There are already a couple hooks in the walls and the cork boards above the desks are for pinning stuff to. I got some tacks for both of us from the front desk when I signed in, so help yourself." And so the pattern of the next hour went; both of us unpacking while Mai gave me a mixture of useful information and stuff I probably could have lived without knowing.

Suddenly I hear my phone ding with a message and I know who it is without checking. "Crap, I was supposed to meet Cloud," I groan, opening the text.

 _Cloud: You still coming?_

Mai is staring at me when I look up. "What?" I ask.

She smirks. "You and Cloud seem to be getting pretty close," she says slyly.

I blush and she gasps. "You guys have totally kissed haven't you!" When I don't answer and flush a deeper red, she arches an eyebrow at me. "You haven't, _you know_ , have you?"

It takes me a moment to grasp what she's saying. I almost laugh. "No! We kissed twice, yesterday." I'm happy to confess to stop her from thinking we'd had sex already. "I don't even know where we stand… he hasn't asked me out, but he keeps saying all this stuff that makes me think that he might."

Mai gives me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "I kinda know how you feel. There's this guy who was in my classes here last year who I was getting pretty close to and I had the biggest crush on, but he never asked me out or anything so I stopped hanging out with him." She shrugs. "But, if you give me a couple days of observing you guys together, I'll tell you exactly what his intentions are."

I frown at her. "How could you possibly be able to tell just from watching us?"

"It's all about the body language. I'll explain later, you have a non-date to attend," she says, cackling when I scrunch my face up at her.

As we pass through the front door of the dorm, I remember the keypad. "Don't I need to know the code for that?" I asked.

"Oh that, there." She digs in her pocket and passes me a piece of paper, cut neatly into a rectangle, with a seven-digit number typed onto it. "I've already memorized it, so keep it."

I try committing it to memory but give up and shove it in my back pocket as we reach Cloud, who's sitting at one of the outdoor tables just outside the library doors.

He looks up as we draw closer. There's relief on his face for a moment before his expression is wiped clean again. "I almost thought you were going to stand me up," he says jokingly as he stands.

"Sorry about that," Mai interjects before I can say anything. "That was my fault, chattering her ear off." She laughs, and Cloud and I exchange smiles.

"So. Food?" he asks. I nod enthusiastically; I hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, having been too nervous to eat.

We head off towards the outside doors into the café. "Normally we would have all our meals from the cafeteria in the dining hall, but because most of the students today will be arriving closer to dinner, they have a lunch selection set up in the café, instead," Mai informs me as we cross the courtyard.

As we enter, I almost duck behind Mai to hide before taking control of myself. Luca and the rest of the boys, along with Reina, are already here looking through the lunch selections. There are a few other students, but it's Luca who had provoked the flight response in me. Our kiss still flits through my mind occasionally, but I try to push it aside each time.

I still feel so much guilt each time I see him – particularly when I'm with Cloud – and I want to avoid that feeling at all costs. Thankfully, Luca is too focused on choosing something to eat that I don't think he even notices me.

"What do you feel like having?" Cloud asks, and a tingle goes through me when our hands brush.

"Uhm…"


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 _Sunday 31_ _st_ _August 2014_

"So, dinner tonight will be pretty formal, probably the most it ever gets here," Mai tells me as she opens the door of our dorm. "School uniform is required, and our best behavior because the headmistress will be there. Sometimes people skip dinner, preferring to take something back to their rooms or whatever, but tonight we don't get that option: the headmistress – Tatiana Hennington – is really particular about things. Thankfully this is the one night of the year that she eats with us, though."

Listening carefully and trying to absorb every detail possible, I almost miss my phone beeping with a message. I lunge for it, my heart in my throat. Mom's face lights up the screen and I'm ashamed with myself for the disappointment that courses through me. I know what had me so sad, but I don't want to dwell on it.

Swiping the screen, I answer the call. "Hey Mom."

"Serenity! You said you were going to call once you got there." She sounds worried. I close my eyes against the guilt.

"Sorry. I was looking around and hanging out with Cloud and Mai. I got distracted." My voice sound disconnected and empty. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mai looking at me carefully. I turn away from her. "I didn't mean to worry you."

There's a pause, and I can hear muffled voices on the other line, followed by Mom shushing them. "That's okay, as long as you got there safely," she says, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm glad we got to have your birthday party, though."

My heart lurches. My seventeenth birthday. The Day of Doom, as I've decided to call it. "It's okay, I'm sure you'll make up for it at Christmas." Mom always goes overboard for Christmas, and I can't wait to see her work her magic on our new house. She'd be busy for weeks decorating the huge building.

After a few more awkward sentiments, we hang up.

"Is it always like that between you?" Mai asks softly, reminding me of Cloud's similar question a couple days ago.

I think for a moment. No, it's not always like this. It's only been this way ever since I found out that after my birthday I'd be able to sprout fur and chase after little bunny rabbits. Enough to put a damper on anyone's relationship, if you ask me.

My answering shrug quietens her and we both change in silence.

Fifteen minutes later we file into the dining hall and I try my best not to directly look at anyone I don't know. It's hard enough that I don't know the difference between those who are in the upper classes, and those I'd be sharing my classes with.

Mai leads us to the second table from the door (and second furthest from the food), which already has a smattering of students seated at it.

"There's a lot more people than I expected," I whisper to Mai as we sit across from each other.

"Yeah, not all of them are full-blooded wolves." Seeing my confused frown she shakes her head. "I'll explain later," she says and turns her attention to her phone.

So I sit amidst the chattering and laughter, perhaps gripping my knife handle a bit too tightly, willing it to be over. There're five short tables. Each one is supposed to be for the different study levels, but Mai told me earlier that not a lot of people pay attention to that after the first night.

The twenty-ish staff members are seated at their own tables, and I assume they're part of the humans-who-can-turn-into-wolves population, but it's pretty impossible for me to tell when I myself haven't even turned yet. I have no idea which one (if any) of them is the headmistress, and I don't want to ask. I'm getting enough curious looks from other students as it is.

I feel warm suddenly and glancing to my side I see Cloud. My breath catches in my throat as his soft green eyes meet mine as he walks past. I feel like collapsing when he winks at me, and can't do anything but stare at him, dumbfounded. We'd been apart for all of half an hour and the first time we see each other again I'm left mentally comatose? Wonderful.

He does look quite delicious in his school uniform, white shirt straining against the muscles in his arms and back… I bite my lip, desire blossoming in my abdomen.

A sharp pain in my leg brings my attention back to the present. Looking around to see Mai glaring at me, I realize what had happened. "You kicked me!" I accuse, shocked.

"Yes, because you are just about drooling," she says, sniggering.

Flushing bright red, I promptly ignore her. She grins at me, but as her eyes are drawn over my shoulder, I forget my anger. Glancing once again to my left, this time I lock eyes with Luca. Piercing green eyes so unlike his brother's, they bore into mine. But when he looks away without so much as a smile, I feel like the ground under me has disappeared.

When has Luca ever _not_ smirked at me? I stare at his back, my earlier thoughts forgotten. Did I do something? I shake off the idea. He isn't my problem to solve. I keep my eyes fixed on my plate after that.

A few minutes later and the smell of food coming from the cafeteria side of the hall is making the basket of bread rolls in the center of the table more enticing by the second. I'm just considering grabbing one when a woman strolls through the doors from the foyer. Her heels click on the stone floor, an imperious air around her, she heads straight for the dais on which the staff tables are. Standing there staring out at us, I gulp.

She looks so intimidating. Her iron-straight black pencil shirt with silken white shirt tucked into it is about as commanding yet stylish as it gets, and she wears it like a queen.

"Good evening, everyone," she speaks, her voice travelling clearly through the great room. "I can see there are many new faces here this evening, and whilst it warms my heart, I am still weighed down by the unfortunate reason as to _why_ you are here. While many of you have dealt with your conditions bravely and with a degree of matureness some might envy, there are others who struggle every single day to keep a grasp on their normal lives. I have unlimited pride in all of you."

I glance around. Absolutely every single pair of eyes is fixed on her, unblinking. She speaks like she's from another era, and I can't help but feel an almost grudging respect for this woman. I wonder how I'd be if I were in her shoes. The only mental image I can produce is a younger version of the woman before me, wearing jeans and stumbling over her own feet.

I have to slap a hand to my mouth to stop myself from laughing. Thankfully everyone is too absorbed to notice.

"Now, I know you must all be famished, so I won't keep you any longer." With that, Tatiana turns crisply and joins the other staff at their table.

There's a fluster of motion at the table furthest from us as everyone at it stands and makes their way to the food warmers. No one else moves. I see Avery, Mason and Reina up getting their food as well.

"The kids in Grade five get their food first," Mai explains, fiddling with her napkin, bored. "So we have to wait." She sighs deeply.

 _Looks like she's not going to be much of a companion tonight_ , I think to myself. But then I remember what she said this afternoon.

"Did you get enough time to 'evaluate' me and Cloud this afternoon?" I ask, hoping she isn't going to blow me off with some cryptic answer.

I see her visibly brighten. "Oh, yes! He has so got it bad for you," she says, grinning. Apparently whatever had been bothering her is now forgotten.

"Are you sure?" I glance over to the next table where Cloud sits. He's laughing at something Jesse is telling him, and my heart melts to hear the sound. Suddenly he looks up and our eyes meet.

Warmth floods me, and I know my face is bright red, but I can't look away.

"This is exactly what I mean," Mai remarks and my eyes snap back to her. "I feel like I need to leave the room whenever you guys look at each other."

I roll my eyes at her, but inside I feel light as a feather. Could she be right? "It's not that dramatic," I say.

She raises her eyebrows at me. "Are you denying that you want to jump him every time he smiles at you?" She grins slyly at me.

I narrow my eyes at her and refuse to respond. Thankfully it's now our turn to join the other second graders in getting food. The walk past the other tables is nerve-wracking, and I make myself look straight ahead; I've had enough of eye contact for tonight.

Sitting back at the table with my lasagna in front of me, I can finally swipe a couple of the bread rolls that have been taunting me. I bite into one and almost moan at how soft and fluffy they are. I've never in my whole life had bread that good. Having a forkful of lasagna, I find that that's equally delicious.

"To be honest, I thought the food wouldn't be this great," I inform Mai, who's rather daintily picking at her roast chicken and salad.

She snorts, bemused. "I thought the same thing, trust me. The cooks here know what they're doing, that's for sure."

The rest of dinner is mostly silent, Mai clearly absorbed in her thoughts. I don't _entirely_ mind: it gives me the chance to discreetly stare at my other classmates. They all _look_ normal, and there doesn't seem to be much difference between those in my grade and those in their last year, aside from age and height.

The kids in Grades four and five are a little louder than the rest, and have more muscles, but again that could just be their age. It seems I'm not going to get much information out of just looking, so it seems my best bet is actually asking someone.

One glance at Mai tells me I'm not going to get much help from her: she's texting someone on her phone. I'm mildly surprised that there aren't rules against that kind of thing, but I suppose that because of the nature of this school they give some leniency to their students.

Besides, Mai hasn't turned yet, and to get the answers I need, I'm going to have to ask someone who knows from first-hand experience what it's like. It's out of the question to ask anyone I don't know – I'm not _that_ comfortable here yet – and my aversion to most members of our group leaves me with one choice.

It's not a conversation I particularly want to have with Cloud, but out of anyone he'd be the most honest and forthright about it.

"What happens after dinner?" I ask Mai, hoping I'm not going to have to have this conversation over text.

"We get about a couple hours to ourselves to study and do whatever, then it's off to our rooms like good little children," she replies, still texting away. I wish I could tell who she's talking to, but a quick glance around the room tells me most of the students are on their phones.

Pulling out my phone, I find Cloud's number and type out a quick message.

 _Serenity: Meet me outside after dinner?_

My heart leaps into my mouth when I get an almost instantaneous reply.

 _Cloud: Of course. You OK?_

 _Serenity: Yeah. Just want to talk_

Twenty minutes later, I've polished off my food and sit there nervously, trying to work out exactly what I'm going to say to Cloud. I'd expected the headmistress to say something before leaving, but her and the other teachers just leave without saying a word.

"They really let us do whatever, don't they?" I remark to no one in particular.

"Pretty much," Mai replies as we file out of the hall, through the foyer and out into the cool night air. "Aren't you coming?" she asks when she notices that I'm not following her back to the dorm. I'd stopped under the shadow of the great oak tree in the corner of the courtyard.

"Uh, no. I'm meeting with Cloud." The blush spreading like wildfire across my face makes her laugh.

"You've got it bad, don't you? Just make sure you're back in before nine, otherwise you'll be locked out," she warns.

I nod and watch her retreating back, wrapping my arms around myself to ward off the cold. For autumn, it sure gets cold at night up here in the mountains. I'm just hoping that I'd brought pajamas when a warm arm drapes itself over my shoulders and I'm looking up into familiar moss green eyes.

"Hey," Cloud says softly.

My heart racing, I bite my lip. "Hey." I'm glad the shadows hide most of my blush, but my heart hammering in my chest is just about audible in the quiet.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asks, leading me to the bench seat next to the trunk of the tree. It's out of the wind, but I'm still glad when he sits as close to me as possible.

Here goes nothing, I suppose. "I just had some questions about the… wolf thing."

He seems a little surprised (it's hard to tell in the dark) and I wonder what he _had_ been expecting.

Almost as though he can read my thoughts, I get my answer. "Can't say I was expecting that," he says, chuckling to himself. The sound makes me shiver, and his arm almost unconsciously tightens around me. "I thought you wanted to ask me about yesterday."

Yesterday? The memory of his lips on mine flashes through my mind. More than anything I want that to happen again.

When I don't answer, he continues. "I'm sorry about that, too. I didn't mean to push you or anything." It's his turn to blush. My fingers itch to touch his face, brush the hair out of his eyes, trace the outline of his lips…

"You didn't push me. I – I wanted it, trust me." Oh man, this conversation is not going at all the way I planned. This boy has a real knack for side-tracking me.

"Best thing I've heard all day," he whispers and I realize he's suddenly incredibly close.

My phone buzzes suddenly with a message. I blush, withdrawing from the close-proximity to check it. It's a text from Mai, reminding me I have a lot to do tomorrow and not to stay out for too long.

"So, your question?" And just like that our kiss is pushed aside.

Gathering my thoughts, I stare up at the starry sky through the branches of the oak. "What is it like, turning for the first time?"

It takes him a moment to answer, but when he speaks his voice is quiet and reflective. "I knew it was coming, and I was scared shitless. Luca had had his turn the year before, and didn't have the best experience with it. He told me what it was like, and I was so scared that it was going to be painful for me, too. But other than Reina, the others had fairly painless experiences as I soon found out."

I try to imagine it, a slightly younger version of the guy sitting beside me, living in fear of the day he has to go through the same thing he'd seen his older brother go through. The image my mind produces makes me feel sad.

"We never did talk about… us," he whispers. I shiver as he leans over and his lips brush against my the skin of my neck as he speaks.

I tilt my head to the side to allow him easier access. "What about us?" I breathe, totally absorbed in the feeling of his mouth. I can't help the disappointment I feel as he lifts his head again to meet my eyes.

"I don't want it to feel as though we're just messing around, or as though I'm using you." He's serious, the green of his eyes darker than usual. My breath catches in my throat. Is he going to ask what I think he's going to? His eyes lower, like he's shy all of a sudden, and I find myself amazed by how thick and long his pale eyelashes are.

Do I want this? I think about how gentle he is, treating me like a delicate flower. His quiet politeness and sense of humor… and our kisses. What more could I possibly want? My mind flashes unbidden to Luca and our all-but-forgotten kiss in the cabin. _NO,_ I tell myself firmly. Luca was nothing more than a fantasy, and the only reason we ever kissed was because both of us had been drinking.

"Yeah?" I prompt softly, but my heart starts to fall when I see in his face that he's holding back.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew."

I'm enveloped with his hug and any misgivings that may have been lingering in my mind vanish completely.

Returning to my room half an hour later, I'm giddy. Cloud and I had sat and talked until the last possible moment, and even then I know we had barely scraped the top. There's a lot we don't know about each other, but I know it's going to be fun in the process.

Mai accosts me the second I step through the door. "Did he ask you?" she demands.

I stand there and blink up at her. I come up blank when I try to work out what she's talking about. "Huh?"

She rolls her eyes. "Don't be obtuse. Did he ask you out or not?"

Oh. I almost laugh at myself. Of course she'd been watching us: our bedroom window looks out over the courtyard.

I try to keep my face neutral but I obviously fail when her mouth drops open in shock. "Oh. My. Gosh. He didn't?" Then she hugs me and I fight the urge to go and hide under my bed. Suddenly she grabs my hands and drags me over to her bed to sit down. "What exactly did he say?"

I sigh. This is going to be a long night.


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 _Monday 1_ _st_ _September 2014_

My first full day at my new school and I've already made a fool of myself. I want to crawl into a nice, damp hole and die.

It started off okay, eating breakfast with Mai in the great dining hall, munching on a delicious toasted ham and cheese croissant and sipping a glass of chilled orange juice. They have the best food here, and a huge variety to choose from. It's my understanding that those who can sprout fur at will need a lot of energy to keep up their strength.

Each day since finding out, I've woken up with a pit in my stomach that steadily grows as I think about the dreaded day when I turn seventeen.

It's after leaving the safety of the hall that my day started to plummet. Cloud joins us, smiling warmly at me and my heart just about combusts with happiness. I haven't seen him since last night under the tree, and when Mai declares that she has some prefect duties to attend to before tomorrow, I'm left with Cloud.

I can't believe the feelings that I have for him after only knowing him for a short time, and it makes me nervous. I've never been in a relationship before, so I have nothing to compare this to. Is this just infatuation? Am I merely enticed by his good looks and kissing skills?

As he begins chattering on about the history of the buildings, I examine him. No, it isn't just his looks; he's funny, sweet, charming… what isn't to love?

He looks down at me suddenly and I smile shyly, caught staring at him.

"Enjoying the view?" he asks cheekily, smiling crookedly.

"Most definitely," I reply unabashedly. This draws a laugh out of him and we continue on the tour.

First stop is the stables, just south of the girls' dorm. The huge oak barn isn't painted, the natural wood looking very rustic next to the pruned gardens and spectacular view. Apparently horsemanship is greatly encouraged and students who choose to partake in lessons and classes are given extra credit towards their end-of-year grades.

It isn't a huge amount of credit, but as we enter I think to myself that most of the kids I see grooming their horses don't look as though they care either way.

"It's very therapeutic," Cloud informs me as we walk the length of the barn, horses on either side of us, safely inside their stalls.

"I've never ridden before," I say, laughing at myself softly. I eye the horses nervously. They eye me back, their dark gazes chilling.

"Seriously?" he asks, surprised.

"Yeah, it's not really a big thing where I was from." I feel momentarily sad, but it fades quickly when a devious smile spreads across Cloud's face. Uh oh.

"What?" I ask suspiciously, wondering what I'm in for now.

"I'm so looking forward to teaching you," he says, eyes twinkling in mirth.

I balk. "Aren't there teachers or something for that?" I demand, horrified at the idea.

Before he can answer I feel a strange snuffling on my shoulder and whirl around to find myself face to face with a huge muzzle. I shriek and throw myself backwards, managing to trip over my own feet in the process and coming to land unceremoniously on my ass. I am so going to have a bruise tomorrow.

I stare up at the enormous horse, who is staring down at me, rather unimpressed. I become aware of a choking sound and look around. It's immediately obvious that the sound is coming from Cloud, who is bent double, laughing.

I scowl. "I'm glad _you_ find this funny," I grumble, scrambling to my feet.

He makes an effort to stifle his laughter. Failing miserably, he just shakes his head amiably and leads us back out of the barn.

"Has Mai told you about the party tonight?" he asks. Clever boy, changing the subject.

I pause, racking my brain. "No, I don't think so. There's gonna be a party?"

"Yeah, for the start of the school year. It'll be different from the one we had back home, so relax." He smiles comfortingly at me and I blush. I don't want him thinking badly of me because of my reaction when Luca and the others _changed_ that night in the woods, but there isn't much I can do about that now.

"Oh," is all I say.

"It'll be held in the storage shed near your dorm; the girls will show you how to get there."

"Storage shed?" I'd been thinking it would be in the dining hall or something.

He chuckles and I feel stupid yet again. "It's not exactly a sanctioned party, so we have to keep it away from the watchful eyes of the teachers," he explains and I'm thankful that he doesn't sound condescending. I can't help but get a bad feeling about this party. Maybe I'm just good at following the rules, but I feel like it isn't a great idea.

We finish the tour of the grounds without any more mishaps, and I'm equally amazed and puzzled by the end of it.

After the stables, Cloud leads me back past the girls' dorm and around the edge of what he refers to as 'the Hub' but which I only see as the place we eat our meals. I suppose his nickname for it is fitting considering most of our classes will be held there, as well as all three meals and whatever else Cloud said yesterday.

We walk back across the huge courtyard, past the library/study hall and towards what I'd assumed was the boys' dorm. Cloud confirms this, but we when the path forks, we turn away from the dorms. Rounding the opposite end of the Hub, I see a huge glass and metal construction that is obviously a new addition.

"That," Cloud says, "is the new inside pools and attached gym, with the old outdoor pool on the other side."

We walk through the automatic doors into the air-conditioned lobby. There are shelves full of awards and medals, and class photos line the walls in between. There isn't a person in sight, and I assume they're off enjoying the last day of freedom.

There's a glass window looking through to the pool area, probably where people can watch without disturbing the swimmers. Cloud leads me through the glass door beside it, and my jaw almost hits the floor.

It's _huge_. I'd seen aquatic centers before, but this is almost the size of a football stadium. Or so it seems, with the metal ceiling and exposed beams. Sky lights allow light to stream in unhindered, sparkling when it hits the water's surface. There are three pools in all, one of them seemingly Olympic-sized.

Doors off to the side are where we head next, and I find us standing in the gym. Equipment is absolutely everywhere in the big room, and there's something for any skill or strength level. I wouldn't even know where to begin with half of it, but I have a feeling it won't stay like that for long.

"The gym is open at any time of the day or night for us to use, so is the outdoor pool," Cloud says as I look around in amazement. "It's so that if we get an unexpected urge to turn, we can come here to blow off some steam."

"Instead of blowing up at someone," I finish the part he isn't going to say. He smiles at me, but there's no humor in his eyes. "Does it happen a lot?"

"Unfortunately, it's an occupational hazard."

We leave the gym through the outside doors, and the view is different again. This time we're facing what I quickly realize is the school oval. It seems a lot larger than normal, but I figure that with unnatural speed and stamina, you'd need a larger field.

"There's a bunch of different sports that are offered, and it's not unusual to do more than one. As long as your schedule allows for it, of course. I played soccer last year, but I'm not sure about this year." He leads us over to some benches and we sit.

Sports? I wrinkle my nose. "What choices do I have?"

Cloud grins when he sees my expression. "Soccer, lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, archery, swimming and gymnastics. It's quite varied."

I feel better when he says volleyball: I'd played it at my old school. "Wait, did you say _archery_?"

"Yeah, the archery range is on the other side of the pool, near the boy's dorm. We can go there now if you'd like, try it out?"

I feel bad for turning him down when he's offering time out of his day to teach me, but I'm done with making a fool of myself for the day. "Uh, maybe another time?"

He hides his disappointment well, for which I'm grateful. "Definitely. Well, let's go check out the greenhouse and I'll show you where the classrooms are. Then we have to go to Mrs. Dowle and get our schedules sorted out."

The greenhouse is a branch of the Hub, its roof made completely of panes of glass and just as big as the dining hall. There are hundreds of different plants in there, all in varying stages of growth. There are even _trees_ growing in the center, from raised garden beds in the wooden floor.

My senses are overwhelmed by a million different scents; lemongrass, spring onion, cedar, lavender… it's an assault on my nasal passages, but it's well worth it. "What is this used for?" I ask Cloud, gazing around dreamily.

"For biology, mostly. But some students make perfumes, jams and ointments to take back to their home towns to sell if they're in need of money. Luca's had to do it a few times, and his strawberry jam is slowly improving." He laughs, and after a beat I join in. I can barely imagine Luca doing cooking of any kind, let alone making _jam_.

"Come on, the classrooms are this way."

We pass through another automatic glass door, this time into a dim, paneled hallway with doors lining both sides. The hallway curves around slowly as we continue, with Cloud pointing out the numbers on the doors and explaining when I get my timetable it'd say which classroom I had to go to.

At the end of the hallway there are a set of great oak doors that stood open. I'm mildly surprised to see they lead to the foyer, with the dining hall directly across. I'd completely forgotten that we're even in the same building.

Instead of going back outside, Cloud leads us into the foyer and up the grand stairs I admire every time I walk through here. Reaching the landing, he points to the left. "That's the ballroom, always off-limits except for school functions. This is the way we need to go." He turn to the right and through a single door into a hallway matching the one downstairs.

Glancing at the doors we pass, I note that each one bears a name to the side on a plaque, including the one we stop in front of. **_Mrs. Agatha Dowle_**. Cloud knocks on the frosted window of the door, and stands back to wait.

He stays quiet, and I follow his lead. I have the feeling these walls are paper thin. It dawns on my then that even if they aren't the teachers can probably still hear us, considering their heightened hearing. I'm really going to have to start remembering these things.

A few minutes later the door opens and instead of facing Mrs. Dowle, it's Reina who steps out. She only gives us a quick smile each before disappearing down the hall. A moment later a grey-haired woman appears.

Colorless eyes regard us coolly behind grey-rimmed glasses, and I get a distinct feeling of unease. "Miss Oaken and Mr. Hale, I presume?" Her voice is clipped and cold. I wonder then if we have somehow gotten here late, although I'm sure Cloud hadn't been rushing.

Actually, he looks perfectly at ease in front of this intimidating woman.

"Yes, ma'am," he says to her, and his eyes smile at me even as his face remains neutral.

"Very well, come in."

We file into the room and perch on the two seats waiting in front of her desk.

"We shall do yours first, Mr. Hale, if that is quite alright," Mrs. Dowle said as she settles herself down behind her desk and brings the screen of her computer to life. Cloud agrees, but I doubt she cares enough to hear.

"I see that your sport of choice last year was soccer, is that still something you would like to continue with?"

Cloud looks slightly uncomfortable for the first time today, and I wonder why. "Well, actually I was hoping to change it to volleyball, and add swimming if possible." He's blushing and it doesn't take a genius to work out why.

Somehow he knew that I have experience with volleyball and had been planning on choosing it as my sport for this year, and decided to do it too! How on earth he knew that when I haven't told anyone, I have no idea.

Mrs. Dowle just nods and types a few adjustments into what I assume is Cloud's timetable. "You already know where to get your gym clothes for the year, and I trust you will show Miss Oaken also." She hands him a yellow piece of paper fresh off the printer, and I try to hide my interest in the colored paper.

I wonder if we'll have any classes together. Do students in different grades have shared classes? I promise myself to compare timetables as soon as we're out of here.

"Now, Miss Oaken." Mrs. Dowle studies me carefully, and I freeze automatically. "Because this is your first year here but are technically are in Grade two, you're going to have to work extremely hard to catch up to everyone else in your year. Your teachers have been notified and until they see fit, you'll be doing mostly Grade one work." She pauses then, as if she expects me to burst out angrily or something. I just nod.

She continues, but keeps regarding me steadily. "Mr. Hale here has volunteered to be your mentor and – for lack of a better term – 'big brother' for your first few weeks. While this means that you will be spending a lot of time together, I should warn you that relationships within school grounds are frowned upon. I will be keeping a careful eye on your progress, and will meet with your teachers periodically. Is this understood?"

I can feel my face burst into flames. This is so humiliating! Here I am, sitting in this woman's office, next to this guy I've kissed multiple times and she's cautioning me against that very thing! And I thought that my day had improved since falling on my ass in the stables.

I realize Mrs. Dowle is still waiting for a response. "Yes, Ma'am."

She nods stiffly and returns to the computer screen. "And what sport is it that you will be undertaking this year?" She asks, fingers poised over the keyboard, waiting for my answer.

I know I'm possibly about to make her even more suspicious, but what could I do? "Volleyball, please. And swimming too, if that's okay." Swimming is easy, and a love of mine. Not that I get to do it very often.

Yet another thing that Cloud seems to have picked up on, somehow.

If she disapproved, Mrs. Dowle doesn't show it, merely types in what she needed and prints off my timetable. Mine is on pale red paper.

What a strange woman.

She dismisses us and I can't get out of the door fast enough. Finally able to breathe freely again, I lean against the wall beside the now-closed door.

"It wasn't that bad," Cloud remarks, silently laughing at me.

"Did you change your sports because you knew which ones I was going to choose?" I demand as I follow him back down the hall. For someone with short legs, it's hard for me to keep up with Cloud, who's almost seven feet tall. I really can't wait until I get the benefits of being a wolf. It'd be nice to not work up a sweat so easily.

Cloud refuses to look at me, but I can see a hint of red creeping up the side of his face. I knew it!

"How did you know I wanted to do them?" I demand, my heart beating at a million miles-an-hour.

"When I showed you the pools, the look on your face plainly said you wanted to get in as soon as you possibly could, and when I said that volleyball was a sports option, you looked so relieved."

It's my turn to blush. Am I really so transparent?

Warm fingers lace through mine. "Come on, let's go get some lunch," Cloud says softly, gently pulling me along behind him.

For the rest of the day we sit on the edge of the small lake everyone calls 'the pond'. Eating our lunch on the grass makes it feel like a picnic and I try to remember the last time I did anything like that before.

"Looking forward to tomorrow?" Cloud asks before taking a massive bite from his second sandwich. A third sat on the plastic wrap in front of him, waiting for its turn.

I think about his question seriously for a moment, instead of shrugging him off with the typical answers. I had had a quick glance over my timetable when we were waiting for our turn in the lunch line, and I'd been momentarily dumbfounded when I saw Astrology was supposed to be my first class of the day.

"One question… why the hell do we have to learn astrology?!" I'm confounded by the idea of it, but Cloud merely chuckles softly.

"Tatiana insists on it. Something to do with being better informed about the 'galaxy that cradles us, and the planets that govern every minute detail of our lives'." He rolls his eyes. "Personally I think she gives a bit too much faith in that kind of stuff."

"You mean like horoscopes and stuff?" Is this school just one big joke? It's like a bunch of terribly cliché ideas thrown together to form this one weird place. But I guess when its main purpose is to teach wolf-children… it couldn't exactly be normal.

Cloud snorts a laugh and I blush. "Yeah I guess, but it's a bit more in-depth than that. It's more to do with the other planets and their alignment with the sun and all that jazz."

I raise a skeptical brow, which he grins at. I'm not a believer of that kind of stuff, even if the horoscopes they post in magazines are funny to read.

"You'll see tomorrow. It's a good thing I'm in most of your classes anyway; helps with the whole 'big brother' thing." He smiles softly at me, and my breath catches in my throat. He's so _beautiful._ He's like an angel sent down from heaven to lead me to a beautiful and happy life.

Or maybe he's an angel from hell, sent here to lead me to a life of sin, because the things going through my mind right now are far from saintly.

I flush deeper, biting my lip softly. I freeze when his hand reaches up and strokes my lower lip softly, releasing it from my teeth. I dare not to breathe, in case he takes his hand away. His fingers are feather-soft as they outline my lips, then trail up to my cheekbone, then down my jaw. I sigh, closing my eyes and leaning into his touch. It's exquisite and I feel more than a little bereft when he removes his hand.

I open my eyes to glare at him, which he replies to with a cocky grin.

I love this side of him. He's always so gentlemanly and sweet, I sometimes forget he has a cheeky side, too. We switch to talking about the rest of the classes and the moment is swiftly forgotten.


	18. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 _Monday 1_ _st_ _September 2014_

Dinner my second night is completely different. Students sit wherever they want, and the noise levels are phenomenal. There isn't a staff member in sight, and I'm starting to get seriously concerned about the teaching methods in this school.

I mean we're basically allowed to do anything we want; how has nobody injured themselves yet?

Wait, they probably have, and it's just that no one talks about it. Just as I'm really starting to fill my own head with covered up tragedies and conspiracies, a sharp pain lances through my leg.

I look up and glare at Mai. What is with her and kicking me? She jerks her chin toward the air above my shoulder and I turn my head, confused. There standing next to me is Cloud, and from the amused expression on his face, he's been trying to talk to me.

"Uh, hi." I flush, embarrassed. I hope he hasn't been there for too long.

He grins at me. "Hey. Mind if I join you guys?"

"Of course," I say quickly, scooting over on the bench to make room for him.

"Keen for the party?" he asks, stepping over the bench and sitting down. Our thighs brush a little, sending pleasant tingles through me at the contact.

I stare at him blankly for a moment, not understanding. His ever-growing amusement tells me that I should already know exactly what he's talking about.

"Remember in the stables this morning when I told you about the party tonight…?" he prompts slowly, as if he's reminding a toddler to say 'please' and 'thank you'.

It takes me a moment longer before finally clicking onto the memory. I had obviously pushed it to the back of my mind after all the excitement today.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm still not convinced about the whole 'secret party in a storage shed' thing."

Mai and Cloud both laugh at me. "Relax," Mai tells me, her eyes crinkling in mirth. "The teachers all know about it – there are a bunch of different parties that students throw during the year, and the teachers always seem to know about it – they just don't care."

I stare at them both. "What kind of bloody school is this? Don't parents freak when they find out what their kids get away with?"

My friends exchange looks. Cloud clears his throat. "Well, most of our parents are dead, and the ones who are left don't care what we do as long as we stay out of trouble and help out at home during the holidays. The teachers are here to teach us, not babysit us. Or so they like to remind us anyway."

I'm gob smacked. It's just as well this isn't a government-funded school; they'd get shut down in an instant if they were!

"This place is nuts," I mutter to myself.

Cloud nudges me with his shoulder. "You're probably the only student here who actually _wants_ the teachers to be strict. Maybe you're not as cool as I thought…" He has this mockingly thoughtful expression on his face as he appraises me, like I'm some weird insect he's never seen before and I mildly repulse him, but at the same time I'm interesting because I'm a bright color or something.

I roll my eyes at his dramatics, shouldering him back slightly harder than necessary. "Shush, you."

He laughs and stands.

I look up at him, confused. Did I scare him off or something? Trust me to let my guard down to joke around and end up annoying him instead.

He gives me a pointed look. "It's our turn for food."

Oh. I knew that!

Blushing furiously, I follow him, Mai and the other third grader's (God, it sounds like a primary school, not a high school for were-children) to the buffet table, thankfully without any more embarrassing mishaps on my part. My stomach grumbles loudly as I take a plate and survey the food laid out before me.

After about five minutes' deliberation, I settle on spinach and ricotta ravioli with a carbonara sauce and chuck a couple pieces of garlic bread on top for good measure.

Mai stares at my plate when I take my place with them again. "Are you vegetarian?" she asks, confused. "Because I could have sworn you had lasagna last night… and we had barbeques all the time at the hunting cabins."

I notice her plate is piled high with a variety of different meat-based foods, and a glance at Cloud's told me that his was the same, just loaded higher than hers.

"Uh, not really," I say in reply to her question. "I just love spinach and ricotta?"

Mai is still looking between our three plates and frowning to herself. "I never usually eat this much, I didn't even really realize."

She looks up at us and Cloud catches her eye, a strange expression on his face. They exchange a meaningful look that I have no chance of deciphering. Then Mai's face falls and she almost looks scared.

I frown, looking back and forth between them, trying to work out what had just happened. "What's wrong?" I finally ask when I realize I'm not going to get any answers otherwise.

Mai is staring down at her fork, hovering over her plate, as if she was suddenly afraid it would blow up if she touched it. "My birthday," she whispers, "is in exactly two weeks."

I blink, uncomprehending of what she was saying.

Cloud notices my blank expression. "The closer it is to the First Change, the more noticeable the changes in your body and behavior." He turns to look at Mai closely, as if he's trying to peer under the surface of her skin from the intensity of his stare alone. "Often the first and most obvious change is emotional. Outbursts, unnecessary anger, violent urges; it all depends on the person and how strong the wolf genes are," he says.

"Appetite is another common indicator, with massive increases of cravings for carbohydrates and protein, often in the form of meats or dairy products," Mai says slowly, looking back up at us. I can see tears glistening in her eyes.

They both speak as if they're reciting from a textbook, and it sends weird shivers down my spine. Is this the type of thing I'm going to have to learn here? The signs and symptoms of becoming a werewolf? Do they even call themselves werewolves?

Is it rude of me to have been expecting one of my classes to be titled Werewolves 101?

"Uhm, I'm gonna go back to the room. I'll see you guys at the party," Mai says, standing. Leaving her untouched plate on the table, she exits the hall quickly.

I turn to Cloud when she's out of sight. "Is she going to be okay?" I ask, worried about my new friend.

He's in the process of shoving food in his mouth and I impatiently wait for him to chew and swallow. "Yeah, she'll be fine," he says finally. "It's hard for all of us when we realize how much is actually going to change. You know, I actually put on at least forty pounds before my First Change because I was eating that much."

I raise my eyebrows as I look him up and down. "You seem to have recovered from that nicely," I say, admiring him for speaking about it so casually. Some people hate discussing weight gain; myself included.

He looks at me oddly for a moment before snorting and cracking a grin. "I don't mean that I got some extra curves. I mean that I used to be a lanky, awkward kid until I hit our version of a second puberty, and gained the extra weight in muscle."

Ohhhh. Well, that's embarrassing. On my part, that is.

I can't help but take a good look at him again, this time focusing on the wiry muscle that stands out against his tan skin. He's nowhere near as buff as some of the other guys I've seen around this place (mostly the older students) but he still looks like he could take on a mountain lion and live to tell the tale.

"I would ask if you've finished checking me out yet," Cloud drawls, causing me to blush. "but I actually quite enjoy it, so by all means, please continue." He winks at me, nudging me slightly with his shoulder.

The contact raises goose bumps to the surface of my skin and butterflies erupt in my stomach. Hell, forget the butterflies, there's a whole freaking zoo in there at the moment.

I give him a shy smile and busy myself with my food. He does the same after a moment, and we don't say much more until both plates are empty and I feel like I'm gonna burst.

"You want a can of soda?" Cloud asks, standing with our plates in his hands, Mai's on top.

"Uh, sure. Thanks."

He smiles down at me and disappears to wherever he plans to get the cans from. I fiddle with my phone, quickly texting Mom and Sky to let them know classes are starting tomorrow but I'm settling in fine so far.

I debate texting Mai to see if she's alright, but figure she probably just needs some time to herself to think things through. I can't help but compare the situation to a death sentence; knowing exactly what is to come, complete with an exact date, but powerless to stop or postpone it.

Cloud arrives a moment later with the promised cans of soda. "I had to get Coke; they were out of everything else," he explains, as if I would have a problem with the red and white vessel of heavenly bubbles.

"That's okay, Coke's my favorite," I say, standing to join him and accept the drink.

"Duly noted," he says, grinning. "Hey, you wanna go for a walk or something before lock down?"

"Lock down?" I repeat, puzzled. Maybe this is a prison in disguise after all.

"Just what we call it when the teachers pretend to impose upon us a curfew, but secretly know that none of us are going to actually stay in our rooms."

"But what about those key pad things they have on the doors of the dorms?" I ask. "Mai said we get locked out if we aren't back before the time we're supposed to be in our rooms."

Cloud raises an eyebrow at me. "She did give you the passcode didn't she?" he asks purposely.

"Oh, yeah," I say, recalling the scrap of paper Mai'd handed me yesterday. Man I'm doing such a great job of making myself look like an idiot. Good thing these guys are basically stuck with my stupid ass.

Cloud nudges me playfully. "Don't look so serious all the time. I'm not going to run screaming if you say the wrong thing, you know."

I appreciate him saying it, but I still can't bring myself to fully believe it. "Sure, but you don't really have much of a choice being in the same peculiar situation and all." I bite my lip, not really meeting his eyes, instead focusing on where I'm walking.

We'd made our way across the quad and were heading to one of the pavilion things that were strategically placed around the grounds. It's the perfect place to sit and study, or have a potentially awkward conversation with a would-be boyfriend.

He stops me before the steps up into the shelter with a gentle hand on my arm. "It's not like that, Serenity," he says, trying to catch hold of my reluctant gaze. "Ever since I heard Luca and the guys talking about you the first time they met you I wanted to meet you for myself."

I look up at him in surprise, and I'm caught off-guard by the intensity of his scrutiny. Butterfly wings brush my insides, and I fight the urge to laugh. This whole thing is just so absurd that I honestly cannot believe it's happening.

Back in Santa Monica I had never felt butterflies around a guy before. Hell, I've never felt _anything_ for a guy before, and here I am all caught up in my feelings for this guy that I barely know. Is it even possible to fall in love with someone after only a few weeks of knowing them? How do I even know what the difference between love and infatuation?

I tear myself away from him and walk up the steps to the pavilion. I'd never seen one in person before, only ever reading about them in books, but they're pretty much like a gazebo, or pergola, or whatever you want to call it.

Leaning on the railing facing out towards the 'Pond', I try to pretend that I don't hear Cloud come up beside me. I try to pretend that my skin doesn't prickle when his arm brushes mine slightly. And I sure as hell try to pretend that I'm not thinking about the way his lips feel on mine or how safe I feel in his arms.

"You know the first night we met I couldn't stop staring at you," Cloud says softly. Subconsciously, I hold my breath, afraid if I made a sound that he would stop talking. "You looked so beautiful, your long hair all knotted from the wind with little leaves from the forest stuck in it." He chuckles to himself and I stare up at him, enraptured by the sound.

"You were the first one to introduce yourself," I say, smiling at the memory. Quiet, mysterious Cloud, offering me a drink like the perfect gentleman.

He smiles sheepishly. "You looked so lost, and everyone else was too chicken," he says, brushing it off.

"I don't think I ever properly thanked you for that."

He cocks an eyebrow at me. "It was nothing, really. More self-serving than anything, because I desperately wanted to know more about you." His boyish grin makes me crack a smile, but I'm not fooled by his lightheartedness.

"And what about now? Have you found out everything you wanted to know?" I ask, a silent challenge as I turn to face him fully.

He's leaning towards me, the details of his ethereal face becoming more defined the closer he gets. "I have a feeling I've barely scratched the surface."

I close the distance between us, my hands on the back of his neck pulling his lips to mine easily. He responds immediately and I'm grateful to know we're on the same wavelength.

Warmth courses through me, sparked by his touch. His arms snake around my waist, pulling me tightly against him. I'm consumed by the feeling, floating on the high of knowing that he actually wants me.

He's the first to pull away and I pout up at him, my arms still looped around his neck.

"Before we get too carried away, there's something that I wanted to talk to you about," he says, nervous.

Still caught up in the moment, I just look up at him expectantly, having no inkling of what he's got in mind. It's cute really, the way he gets this little crease between his eyebrows when he's worried or thinking about something.

"Well, see… I was wondering ifyouwanttobemygirlfriend?" It all comes out in a rush, and he sucks in a huge breath.

It takes me a moment to comprehend what he's said, and when I do I can't help the huge smile that breaks across my face. "I'm sorry, what was that?" I ask teasingly.

I don't think he realizes that I'm joking because he seems to be bracing himself to repeat what he'd said. "It's okay, I heard," I rush to assure him. "And of course I will be."

The massive grin on his face makes me swell with so much happiness I can feel it in my toes. "Really?" he asks, unable to stop the happiness in his voice.

"Really really," I respond, laughing. "Do you wanna skip that party tonight and just hang out instead?" I suggest, not really feeling up to big crowds of people.

"I was literally just going to suggest that," he says, pulling me into another kiss.


	19. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 _Tuesday 2_ _nd_ _September 2014_

When I saw yesterday that my first class of the day would be Astronomy, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

This school, honestly.

The rest of my subjects for the day seemed pretty normal, and ones I had more or less done before.

So when I turn up to classroom A2 in the Hub, with Mai chattering about everything I missed at the party last night, I hardly know what to expect.

The in mind, in the end there was nothing mystical or totally ridiculous about what Ms. Martin was lecturing to us about.

Apparently last year the class covered most of the basics: commonly known constellations, the Greek and Roman versions of the planets origins, and the history of Astrology around the world.

This year seems like it will be more of the same, and it doesn't take long for me to completely lose interest.

Cloud, who had been the perfect gentleman last night, had refused to spend our evening together making out, instead insisting we use the time to get to know each other better.

Thus the game of '20 Questions' was commenced. Unlike playing with other guys, he hadn't asked me extremely personal or embarrassing things, which I'm unendingly grateful for.

He's the type of guy who I feel like I can be who I am around, without needing to put up pretenses or hide things about myself. After less than twenty-four hours as an official couple, it might be a little soon to tell, but I just know I'm falling for him.

I'm startled when I hear the tolling of the great brass bell situated at the top of the Hub, signaling the end of the class period. I scramble to collect my notebook I'd been doodling in, as well as the textbook I had been handed at the beginning of class.

"Dozing off the first class of your first day?" Mai asks, shaking her head in mock-disappointment. "You know the teachers will be keeping an eye on you," she adds, more seriously.

"Yeah, Cloud said the same thing," I reply. We're on our way to our next class – biology – and the halls are packed with students on their way to their next class.

Mai turns to me, seeming as though she's barely reigning in her excitement. "That's why you're so spacey, isn't it? Neither of you were at the party last night, and you were already asleep when I got back to the room."

I avert my gaze, knowing full well that of all the people to tell, Mai is the best, seeing as she knows Cloud so well and can help me avoid any potential sore spots.

"Well, yeah… he kind of asked me to be his girlfriend."

I knew even before I said the words that she would be excited, but what I wasn't prepared for was Mai squealing, coming to a complete stop in the middle of the hall, and whirling on me, gripping my shoulders excitedly.

"I knew it," she proclaims, the enormous grin on her face looking almost painful. I glance to the side and flush with embarrassment when I see the stares and frowns we're getting from people trying to get past us.

"Can we finish talking about this at lunch?" I implore her, unbelieving that she's so unperturbed by the attention. "People are staring," I add, in case for some reason she just hasn't noticed.

"Oh screw them," she scoffs, releasing me anyway. We continue on to the labs and I keep my head down as she chatters on. I don't know if I'll ever get used to people staring, and while my usual strategy would be to remain anonymous, it seems that ship has already sailed.

Where I thought that at a school dedicated to the wolf-human offspring of the country, that we would be just like everyone else here, but it appears we get an unordinary amount of attention.

"Why do people give us more attention than they do others?" I ask Mai, as we pass by a group of glaring girls. This is getting beyond ridiculous.

"Hmm? Oh, it's kind of a long story," she says, as if that even came close to answering my question.

"If Biology at this school is anything like at my old school, I think we'll have plenty of time," I tell her pointedly. I'm so over everyone dodging my questions or telling half the story. Or in the case of my Mother: not saying anything at all.

Mai sighs. "All right, all right."

Turns out biology class is nothing like I'd experienced at my old school. While the lab and equipment look the same, that's where the similarities end.

Our teacher, Mr. Carter, isn't your usual pasty-skinned, bespectacled, lab coat-wearing teacher. Far from it, actually.

Mr. Carter is the closest thing I have ever seen to a real-life Hagrid. He has the over-grown beard and hair, the height and build of a rugby player, and the personality of a teddy bear. Just minus the moleskin vest and three-headed dog and yep, got ourselves a Hagrid.

Mai notices my open-mouthed awe as we settle into neighboring seats. "He kind of defines the whole werewolf stereotype, doesn't he?" she says, snorting to herself.

I think about the werewolf movies and TV shows I've seen and have to agree. If there's one thing I've learned since moving to Serenity Falls, it's that you can't judge a book by its cover.

"Okay, so spill," I demand as soon as Mr. Carter starts speaking. We're seated towards the back of the class and I have no doubt he can still hear us, but I need answers.

"I promise I'll tell you everything later," she says, casting a furtive glance at the students sitting around us. "There's a short break after this period. We'll talk about it over food."

I roll my eyes. This girl and her food, honestly.

I realize why she was worried about people overhearing our conversation; even in classes we seem to get an inordinate amount of side glances and whispers.

Flying under the radar is not going to be an easy feat when I get this much attention for seemingly no reason.

Class passes without a hitch and I find that I might enjoy biology this year. Not that I understand all that much of it, but it seems like a subject I might actually gain something from.

Mr. Carter stops me on the way out of the lab at the end of the class. Mai tells me to meet her at the café with a pointed look, leaving me alone with the small giant.

"So, Miss Oaken, I hear from Mrs. Dowle that you're a new student this year?" he starts, shuffling around with some papers on his desk.

I nod quickly, wondering if I'm in trouble or something.

"While that isn't a problem for me – Grade Two work is still fairly elementary – I will need you to do a couple extra assignments, just so it seems I'm doing my job," he says, chuckling slightly and smiling at me kindly.

I smile back and laugh awkwardly. He hands me a few pieces of paper and I glance at the top one. I'm relieved to see it looks like a normal school assignment instruction page, but other than that I don't understand much of it. Maybe Mai or Cloud can help me out with it.

"I've included the first assignment for the semester that everyone else will be getting next week, so you'll have some extra time to think about it," Mr. Carter says, already busying himself with getting ready for the next class.

I thank him, edging out of the classroom. He doesn't call me back or anything, so I figure I'm free to go. The hall is packed with students again, and I get bumped more than a few times as I make my way through the foyer and into the dining hall.

The door to the café is propped open with a chair, and I see students in there getting their caffeine fix.

By now I'm starting to recognize certain people, and even spot Victorie and Mason eating lunch together. They seem to be arguing over something, which for them seems to be the norm. They have such a turbulent relationship, going from a sickeningly happy couple one minute to metaphorically tearing each other's throats out.

My thoughts turn to Cloud and our budding romance. I couldn't imagine either of us behaving that way, which comforts me, realizing we're a lot more alike than I ever thought.

"Serenity!" Mai calls out to me through the hall, and I flush red at all the heads that turn to look. She really knows how to capture the attention of a hundred-plus teenagers, that's for sure.

She's sitting at the far end of the hall, a tray of food already in front of her. She waves me over, a cheeky smile on her face. She knows she's embarrassing me, and she's enjoying every second of it.

Rolling my eyes and wishing the ground would open up and swallow me whole, I go to join her at the table.

"Aren't you going to get something to eat?" she asks incredulously as I take a seat across from her.

"Nah, not really hungry," I say, eyeing off the mountain of food on her plate. It reminds me of what Cloud said about increased appetite before the First Change, and when I see Mai staring down at her food too, I know she's remembering the same thing.

Time to distract. "Now, you said you'd tell me why people seem to steer clear of us, so spill," I demand, crossing my arms and fixing her with a hard stare.

She holds up her hands in defense. "All right, all right. Chill out," she grumbles. "I don't know the full story myself, because technically I'm not part of the pack yet, but I've heard the basics enough times by now."

Her comment about the pack brings me up short for a second, having never really considered that there were two sides to the group of friends I'd been hanging around with for the past weeks: there was the side who could turn into wolves and the side that couldn't.

I feel odd suddenly, as I think about all the times we'd been together and I'd never realized at the time that I was still on the outside. It had never occurred to me that my not turning yet could be a factor; I'd always been more worried about the fact I barely knew any of them.

"So, Cloud told you a bit about your ancestors, right? The ones that founded Serenity Falls?" Mai asks. I'm a little surprised she knows about the impromptu history lesson, but I nod confirmation anyway.

"Okay. Well it was the seven Founders who started it all, really. They invaded the original villages, planning on killing all inhabitants and taking the land for themselves." Mai's voice is low and hypnotizing, drawing me into the world her words describe. "One thing they weren't at all prepared for was the natives to suddenly turn into giant wolves, ready to defend their families in a fight to the death."

My eyes are wide as I try to picture in my mind what had happened. Guilt washes through me, knowing my ancestor was one of the ones who had tried – and succeeding in – taking the land from its rightful owners.

Mai continues. "You'd think that the Founders would have been killed in the fight, but they were smart, and had thought to bring with them dozens of men who they were willing to sacrifice for the sake of their cause.

"Basically, because the native people were outnumbered, despite the clear upper-hand they had, they were slaughtered. What men weren't killed in the fight were executed later, in full view of their women and children."

"That's awful," I breathe, my mind filled with the horrible images and cries of those forced to watch their loved ones die. "But, what does that have to do with us?" I ask, trying to bring myself back to the present before I started getting all teary-eyed.

Mai rolls her eyes. "I'm getting there, just hold your freakin' horses, woman," she scolds, making me laugh at her choice of words. "Okay, so after the men of the village were killed and the Founders took control of the village and those surrounding it, sometimes taking beautiful women for themselves to marry.

"As the years went on, it became quickly obvious that something wasn't right. Children born of the seven Founders found that on their seventeenth birthdays – the year they were considered to be adults – they would begin their First Change and become wolves."

"Yeah, Cloud said that there was a curse or something that was put on the Founders, so that they could know the pain they caused," I interject, raking my brain for the exact words he'd used and coming up short. My memory is officially useless.

"Something like that," Mai says, glaring at me for interrupting her again. "But as the generations went on, families began fighting and eventually led to them leaving. They settled in different towns and continued passing down the wolf gene, although only some ended up actually being able to Change."

She pauses and waits for the information to sink in. While it's a lot to take in, I'm beginning to see the point she's trying to make. "So, they hate us because it all started in Serenity Falls?" I guess, feeling like I'm back in class and answering a teacher's question.

"Yup," she says, popping the 'p'. "Even though we all share the same ancestors, apparently those of us still living in Serenity Falls – and those of you who bear the original Founders names – are abhorred more than the rest." She wrinkles her nose, as if the idea of it left an unpleasant smell.

"That's totally stupid," I protest, wondering who could be stupid enough to hold a grudge against us for something we couldn't even help. "So, they hate me, Cloud, Luca…" I rack my brain for the rest of the last names. "Kailya, Avery and Victorie, more than the rest just because of our last names?"

She nods sadly. "Along with your sister and Acacia."

Sky? A sudden, horrible thought runs through my mind. "Will Sky have to go through this, too?" I ask, dreading the answer.

Mai gives me a sympathetic smile. "There's no real way to know for another year, at least. It's a high chance, considering she's an Oaken, but even if she doesn't actually Change, she'll still have to attend school here."

I frown. "Why? If she isn't going to sprout fur or claws, wouldn't it be better letting her have a normal life?"

The look she gives me says that I'm missing a huge point here. "Even if she doesn't Change, she'll still carry the genes, and there's a high possibility that if she ever had children, that they will be exactly the same."

Oh. I hadn't even considered that.

"It's all kind of depressing, isn't it?" Cloud says, appearing from nowhere and plopping down beside me. He gives me a sweet, if a little sad, smile.

I want to hug him, but I don't want to give anyone more reason to think badly of me. I lace my fingers through his instead, squeezing his hand tightly.

"Didn't think I'd see you until lunchtime, at least," I say, returning his smile.

"We have the next class together, so I thought I'd come find you," he says, using his teeth to unwrap a muffin. I briefly wonder where he got it from, because it looked mouthwatering.

"Since when do we have any classes together?" I demand, not recalling anyone mentioning that little bit of info.

"Mmmhmm," Cloud mumbles, eyes closed in pleasure as he finishes off the last of his dessert. I stare at him, slightly jealous, waiting impatiently for him to hurry up and answer.

Mai answers for him, obviously seeing that he wasn't going to respond anytime soon. "Gym, history, languages and whatever sports we chose are shared between year levels. Grades One through Three are lumped together, same as Grades Four and Five."

The bell rings, sounding distant over the noise of a hall full of chattering students. "What do we have now, then?" I ask, not having memorized my timetable yet.

"Languages," Cloud answers as we all stand, clearly finished with his food love affair. "So that means we get to sit in the back of class and swap cute notes." He grins cheekily, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me to his side.

I giggle, loving this playful side to him, as Mai makes mocking retching noises. I poke my tongue out at her, which she immediately returns.

Somehow, I think I'm going to enjoy this school, despite the crap that comes along with it. At least I have actual friends now.


	20. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 _Sunday 7_ _th_ _September 2014_

The rest of the week passed by in a blur. Mrs. Dowle hadn't been exaggerating when she said I had a lot to catch up on. Even though most subjects were in the same vein as ones I took at my old school, none of the teachers seemed to think that I'm up to the same level as the other students in my grade.

By the end of the first week I had a mountain of homework to be done, and as much as I just wanted to hang out with Cloud, my inner nerd refused to let me fall behind even further.

So, while everyone else was cooling their feet in the pond or in the pool enjoying the last of the warm weather, I spent my weekend in the library, making my way through the assignments and readings.

It's Sunday afternoon when Mai and Cloud decide to spring me from my self-imposed prison.

"Seriously," Mai scolds me, sitting on the table beside my notebook, swinging her legs like a kid on a swing set. "How is it even mentally possible for you to function after all the studying you've been doing? Do your notes even make any sense at this point?" She peers at my scribbled handwriting, cocking her head as she attempts to read it upside down.

Cloud takes the seat beside me, resting his elbow on the table and propping his head on his hand, his green gaze focused on me. "I'm actually pretty impressed with how you're throwing yourself into everything; there were bets going that you'd be screaming for someone to take you home and out of this asylum."

I stare at him, trying to decipher his expression and figure out if he was serious or not. "Who the hell would put bets on that?" I demand, not sure if I should be offended or amused.

"Jesse came up with the idea," Mai says, rolling her eyes at her cousin's behavior. "Mason and Luca joined in."

I'm surprised to hear that Luca would involve himself in something so childish, but quickly remind myself that I know next to nothing about him, and the stab of hurt I feel about it shouldn't affect me so much.

"Luca bet against him, saying that you'd stick with it," Cloud adds in, and for a second I wonder if he'd read my mind. "Jesse said you'd last three days before going nuts and trying to hitchhike home."

"What about Mason?" I ask, curious about the intimidating yet sometimes lovable boyfriend of the ice queen, Victorie. They were still total puzzles to me, like most of the group, and I'm always trying to get as much information about them as I can.

"He said you'd make the end of the month, then snap and get suspended," Mai said, snorting.

I laugh and shake my head. "Where'd he get that idea from?" That seems totally ludicrous, considering I've never even been sent to the principal's office before.

"He said something along the lines of 'it's always the quiet ones'," Cloud says, grinning at my expression. "But like Mai said: seriously. We need to get you out of here. You'll have plenty of time to prove yourself as a teacher's pet later."

"But, if I don't finish this stuff, I might not ever catch up!" I protest. "What if they don't let me pass the year and I'll have to repeat it?"

They both give me bemused smiles. "Chill out, dude," Mai tells me, hopping down from the table. "Do you really think the teachers are gonna want to put up with us a minute longer than they absolutely need to? Definitely not."

I turn to Cloud, who's also standing and stretching. I find my gaze caught by the strip of exposed flesh over his stomach as his shirt lifts slightly. The skin looks taut, toned and tan. My three new favorite 't' words.

My cheeks flush as I tear my eyes away, only to see Mai grinning at me knowingly. Why did she always catch me in moments of weakness like this?

"What'd you guys even have in mind?" I start packing my things up, piling the library books to one side to return to the desk on the way out.

"Well, Cloud mentioned a little tidbit of information that you let slip last week…" Mai says, her Cheshire-cat grin making me nervous.

I glance at the boy in question. "What's she talking about?" I could have said absolutely anything, especially if I was talking to Cloud. But what would he feel was interesting enough to share with Mai?

He looks sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous way. "It kind of just slipped out."

"Now I'm getting kind of worried," I say, looking back and forth between them, looking for some indication of what I'm in for.

"You know how we were in the stables and you mentioned how you've never ridden a horse before…" Cloud starts, looking apologetic.

I click onto what he's getting at and groan. "Please don't tell me that's what we're going to do right now?"

"Yep!" Mai says, lacing her arm through mine and dragging me out the door. She's stronger than she looks, and I'm swept away before I can so much as protest.

Glancing back at Cloud, I see him wink at me as he collects my bag and books.

"Holy shit."

The horse staring down at me distastefully seems to be thinking much of the same thing. It's chocolate-brown eyes look uncertain, probably vividly imagining me falling off it's back, just like I am.

"You expect me to ride _that_?" I ask Cloud and Mai incredulously. They were going to get me killed, for sure.

"Don't be a drama queen," Mai scolds me, returning from collecting an armful of brown leather. "That's Victorie's thing, and it's not attractive on anyone else."

I give her an amused look, but that look immediately turns to disgust when I hear a loud noise and feel a mass of goo hit my chest. Staring down at myself in horror, I see a brown-green pile of horse snot splattered over my shirt, slowly beginning to slide down.

"Urgh!" the strangled sound comes out louder than intended, startling the horse into shying away from the stall door. It retreated to the back with a huff, it's eyes watching me uncertainly.

"I think she likes you," Cloud says, and when I turn to glare at him, his face remains serious. I see the twitching at the corner of his mouth as he tries not to smile, but I choose to ignore it. He's lucky I like him.

"Here," Mai says, holding out a rag for me to wipe the slime off with.

I manage to get most of it, but I know my grey shirt will never fully recover. "I retract my earlier question. What i meant to ask is: you expect me to ride a horse that clearly doesn't like me?"

Mai makes a dismissive noise. "Don't be silly, Lady has no particular feelings towards you, dislike or otherwise. You two just have to get to know each other."

"You talk about her like she's a person."

"She may as well be," Cloud says, laughing. "Horses can be very intelligent, and are often great judges of character."

"Well I'd hate to know what she thinks about me, if this is any indication," I grumble, gesturing to my ruined shirt.

They both just laugh at me. I ignore them, instead focusing on the creature I'm about to put my absolute faith in not to send me flying to the ground. Lady's ears are perked forward, her long-lashed gaze focused on me, and I wonder what it is she sees when she looks at me.

"You'd better not trample me," I tell her, only half-joking.

She snorts, bobbing her head a little as she does so, and I get the distinct feeling she's laughing at me.

Cloud shows me how to saddle her up, explaining each piece of tack and what order to put them on in. He has this amazingly gentle way of talking that often distracts me more than it helps me. He's the perfect teacher, with more patience than a Buddist monk.

Once Lady is tacked up we lead her out through the far end of the stables and out into one of the large training rings.

"Place your left foot in the stirrup," Cloud instructs as we stand in the middle of the ring, pointing to the hanging bit of leather. "Now hold on to the horn of the saddle and pull yourself up, swinging your right leg over."

I get a bit of guilty pleasure when I feel his hands on my waist, then my thigh as he helps guide me through the motions. I manage to haul myself into the saddle, the unfamiliar feeling of the hard leather between my legs and the totally new view over Lady's head.

It felt both exhilarating and nerve-wracking at the same time, and I grin down at Cloud, proud of myself for actually getting this far.

He returns my grin. "Now for the hard part."

An hour later and my ass is so sore it feels like I've been sitting down for an eternity. Cloud helps me off the horse, holding onto me when I stumble a little.

"Are you okay?" he asks, and I can see he's holding back laughter.

"Just peachy," I gasp, disbelieving of the stiffness in my limbs.

"We may have overdone it a little, I think," Mai says, hopping down from her own horse. She makes it look so smooth and graceful, where I almost tripped trying to get my foot out of the stirrup.

She'd been riding in a different area, going through a course of jumps and other obstacles, while I was working up how to go from a walk to a trot.

I vow to myself then that I'll practice and keep at it until I'm a natural.

"When can we practice again?" I ask Cloud, determined to take this as seriously as my classwork.

"Well sports practice starts after classes next week, so once that schedule is worked out, we'll fit this in, too." He helps me lead Lady back into the stable to untack and brush her. "I think a couple days break would be good for you, though."

I chuck a horse brush at him as he laughs, which he easily dodges, and as much as I try not to, I can't help but laugh with him.

"I'll see you guys later, okay?" Mai days, having already untacked her horse and put him in his stall. "I'm starving."

We wave after her as she heads out of the stable in the direction of the Hub.

I'm caught off guard as Cloud wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to his chest. He's gazing down at me intensely, and I can see a burning emotion in his eyes.

I glance around quickly, but we're hidden from view of anyone, standing inside the stall. Lady is standing in the aisle, lead rope tied to a post as she watches us. The judgement in her eyes is almost comical, and I'm reminded of a chaperoning teacher at a school dance.

Ignoring her, I turn back to Cloud, wrapping my arms around his neck. He needs no further encouragement, leaning down and capturing my lips in a perfect kiss.

I feel his frustration at waiting so long for this in the tense muscles of his shoulders and the almost urgency in his kisses.

I kiss him back with just as much intensity, and gasp slightly when he bites my bottom lip gently.

Growing desire blooming deep in my abdomen startles me a little, but instead of being uncomfortable with it, I allow it to consume me.

Cloud turns us so my back is pressed against the wall of the stall, the wood biting into my skin slightly. I focus on the feeling of his tall, lean body pressed up against every inch of mine, making my brain short-circuit as my heart thumps hard in my chest.

I have no idea how far it would have gone, and I don't get a chance to find out.

Loud voices reach our ears from close by and we jump apart. Breathing heavily, I try to pat down my hair, which had escaped from its ponytail.

I hear steps from right outside the stall and I pretend to be leaning casually against the wall as Cloud picks up the brush I'd thrown at him before casually leaving the stall to continue brushing Lady.

A pair of guys pass by us, talking loudly and barely sparing us a glance. I let out a sigh of relief, and Cloud shoots me a cheeky grin and a wink.

The moment is over, but a blush still tinges my cheeks and the fresh memory replays through my mind for the rest of the day.


	21. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

 _Monday 8_ _th_ _September 2014_

I wake suddenly, the memory of snapping teeth and glowing green eyes already fading from my conscious mind.

I'm drenched in sweat, which would have been disgusting enough even without my long hair having escaped its elastic band and now clings to every possible inch of skin.

Being super quiet to avoid waking Mai (who basically sleeps like the dead, anyway), I gather my shower things and sneak out of the room, heading for the bathroom.

It's thankfully still early enough that no one is awake, meaning I have my pick of the good showers. Somehow, I seem to always get stuck with the ones that have serious pressure problems, or are growing at least three species of mold.

Standing under the spray of icy cold water is pure bliss that lasts all of five minutes. There's a strange heat in my chest, accompanied by a sort of anxious fluttering in my stomach.

My dream comes back to me in pieces, as well as the memory of the first time I saw someone change into a wolf. I've tried so hard not to linger on the image, knowing that with how close my birthday is approaching, there's no point in sending myself into a panic over it.

I know what will happen, but there's no way to prepare myself for it. Not mentally, anyway. The physical part seems to sort itself out quickly enough in the lead-up, according to Cloud.

My mind flashes to Mai, who's own seventeenth birthday is only a week away. It's been a strange and nerve-wracking experience, watching her gradually change over the last week.

I don't know when exactly the process began, but just in the last few days alone it's been easy to see a noticeable difference in her.

Her hair, already impossibly long and thick, now has a healthy shine to it that not even the most expensive hair products can achieve. Her appetite, now much like that of the older students, could rival the high-calorie diets bodybuilders or extreme athletes swear by.

Yes, I'm jealous. But who wouldn't be when forever surrounded by beautiful people?

Blinding pain shoots through me and a strangled gasp escapes my lips as I clutch my stomach. Waves of scorching heat radiate through my body, and it's all I can do just to try to stay still. Whenever I move the slightest, another crippling lance of pain goes through me.

I slowly sink to the floor, tears streaming down my face with my eyes scrunched tightly closed against the agony.

"Serenity?" Mai's voice echoes through the bathroom, perfectly audible over the sound of the shower pelting against the tiles.

Panic seeps through my mind. I don't want her to see me like this!

Struggling to stand so I can get my towel and cover up, I slip on the wet floor and hit the tiles hard. I let out a cry of pain before biting down on my lip to stifle the sobs now tearing through me. I curl up into a ball, wishing for the torture to just be over already.

"Holy shit." Mai is suddenly by my side, covering me with my towel and pulling my damp hair out of my face. "Serenity, can you hear me?"

I try to answer, but just as I convince my vocal cords to work, another searing flood of pain fills every muscle and nerve of my body, and the last thing I remember is the feeling of the cool tiles beneath me before everything goes black.

I slip back into consciousness slowly. Voices filter into my hazy mind, as well as the feeling of a soft bed underneath me.

 _How did I get from laying on tiles to a bed?_ I wonder lazily, trying to convince my eyes to open.

Once they finally obey, I see that I'm back in my room. Mai's bed is empty, and I vaguely wonder where she is.

I get my answer faster than I expect when the door suddenly opens and Mai enters. She looks relieved when she sees me awake and sitting up.

"Oh thank goodness you're awake," she says, and I can practically see the tension draining out of her. "I was worried it had been worse than I first thought."

I'm definitely confused now. I frown at her, trying to detect any little bit of the pain I felt earlier, but everything feels normal. It's as if it never happened at all. "Did I imagine that whole episode?" I ask her, not wanting to even consider those implications.

She sits on the bed beside me and offers a comforting smile. "No, you did not imagine it. Unfortunately, it's one of the many symptoms of the First Change."

"But… It's still so far away from my birthday," I protest, panic once again beginning to grow in me. I thought I would have more time!

Mai looks uncertain, sympathy written all over her face. "The problem is that there's no strict timeline when it comes to this… and the symptoms leading up to it differ greatly between all of us. Or so everyone else tells me, anyway," she adds hastily, blushing slightly.

"So, I'm not going to Change any earlier than my birthday?" I clarify, although from the look on her face I'm not liking my chances of a positive answer.

"Well…" Mai's interrupted by the door opening once more. We both look up to see Kailya and Victorie enter, and Mrs. Cooper the dorm matron on their heels.

I feel awkward under their gazes, especially with the older girls in here. I still hadn't quite worked them out, and I'm not sure that I ever would.

"Miss Oaken? I see that you're feeling better now," Mrs Cooper comments, striding over to my side to rest a cool hand over my forehead. She withdraws after a moment, obviously seeing that I have no temperature, and her eagle-sharp but kind eyes sweep over the rest of me.

I'm not sure what she expects to see, but I assume she doesn't find anything out of the ordinary when she nods absentmindedly. "Are you feeling well enough to go to classes today, or do you need me to write a note to your teachers?" she asks.

The day off classes when I'm still so behind? Hell no! "No, I'm okay. Just a little confused," I insist.

Mrs. Cooper glances at Victorie and Kailya, then back to me. "I think that's something your pack should talk to you about." She leaves without another word.

I look between the three girls, all of them watching me. There's pity in their eyes, and I realize I hate that more than the idea of the Change. "How did I get back here?" I ask Mai, hoping to distract myself.

She seems relieved to have something easy to answer. "I woke up and found you gone. I was worried that something had happened, so I went looking for you. I heard you cry out in the bathroom, so I totally freaked when I saw you curled up on the floor like that." She looks down at her clasped hands.

Kailya pipes up. "She came and woke us up so we could help her get you back in here. You're lucky you didn't hit your head on the tiles when you fell." Her tone is matter-of-fact, but I can see the shadows of memories floating in her eyes.

I flush, embarrassed by the thought of these perfect female specimens seeing every inch of plain old me.

Victorie nudges Kailya and whispers something in her ear. The redhead nods and with a final glance at me, they both leave.

"Come on, we'd better get ready. Double gym this morning," Mai says, prodding me in the ribs with a forced smile.

Ten minutes later we're making our way out of the cafeteria in the direction of the gym building. Thanks to my episode this morning, we had no time for a proper breakfast, only managing to snag a couple of blueberry muffins that were left.

"Serenity!" Cloud's voice interrupts my next bite of muffin.

I wince, knowing from his worried tone that he already knew about what happened. After glancing at Mai, who smiles at me and continues into the lobby of the gym, I turn to face Cloud.

He gently holds either side of my face, looking deep into my eyes. I half-expect him to kiss me, and dearly hope he doesn't given the mouthful of dessert I have yet to chew.

"Are you okay?" he asks, slowly dropping his hands to my waist instead.

I swallow the muffin, almost choking in the process, strangely irritated by his worry. "I'm fine," I assure him, laughing it off.

He frowns. "Are you sure? I heard it was pretty bad…"

Something about his words makes me angry. I'm not a fragile girl, I don't need to be coddled like one! "Seriously, Cloud. I don't want to talk about this right now," I tell him empathetically, immediately hating myself for it.

He looks a little taken aback as he releases me, but then he sets his jaw in that way I'm beginning to learn that he does right before becoming stubborn as a mule.

"I get it, okay. I really do. But this is serious, and I really care about you. I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

We stare at each other, neither willing to back down, but not wanting to escalate things further by continuing the argument.

The anger that was so intense in my chest a moment ago, begins to fade, but in my mind, I feel as though something between us has shifted. Whether for good or bad, I don't know.

Before I get the chance to say something I'll later regret, Mrs. Northman arrives. We follow her into the gym lobby as she calls us all to attention.

Using class as an excuse to ignore my disagreement with Cloud, I turn away from him, avoiding any attempts he might have to catch my eye.

I'm confused to see Luca and another girl named Elle flanking Mrs. Northman, considering they're upperclassmen and have gym during a different period.

It seems I'm not the only one left out of the loop (for once) because Mrs. Northman briefly explains they are to be her teaching assistants for the semester.

 _This is just freaking perfect._ My summer fling – can I even really can him that? – is going to be helping to teach the class that I'm worst in. With his younger brother here too, no less.

Is it also terrible of me to be wondering if I look okay in my gym clothes? As if I wasn't already nervous about showing so much leg in front of Cloud and the rest of class, but now I have Luca to worry about too.

We file into the gym behind Mrs. Northman and I'm glad I'm not the only one awed by the transformation inside. Last week where there had been weight machines and exercise equipment, there is now a twenty-foot high metal structure.

It takes a moment to overcome the shock to realize it's some sort of jumbo-sized playground, complete with monkey-bars, rope ladders, plank bridges, a rock climbing wall and even what looks like a flying fox.

"Are they freaking kidding me?" Mai mutters from beside me, her eyebrows pinched together at the monstrosity. "I swear she enjoys torturing us."

Cloud, unsurprisingly, doesn't seem ruffled by the change in class schedule.

He notices me staring at him incredulously. "What?" he asks, cool as a cucumber. Innocent as a lamb. Calm as the… well, you get the idea.

"How are you not even a little bit concerned?" I demand. "I get that your fitness level is a lot higher than mine, but that… _thing_ , is a death trap!"

Even I'll admit that I may be overreacting a little, but seriously. Nothing ever seems to bother him, and I'm beginning to feel like the damsel-in-distress type of girl pretty much around the clock.

I mean, a freaking spider dropped onto his arm while we were at the lodges before school started and he literally just picked it up and put it on a nearby branch without so much as a batted eyelid.

I cock an eyebrow at him when he still doesn't reply.

He finally cracks a smile. "I may or may not have overheard Luca talking about it to Mason the other day," he says slyly.

I roll my eyes. I guess I'd better add cocky to the growing list of Cloud's attributes.

Class is underway, and a feeling of dread grows in my stomach. The metal structure at first looked like a complicated mismatch of playground equipment, but as Mrs. Northman explains the purpose of today's lesson, it begins making more sense.

Most of the class – made up of first, second and third grade students – look just as ill as I feel. Only those older students – like Cloud – look mildly intrigued.

Mrs. Northman tells us all to get in line, older students at the front and younger ones at the back. Cloud flashes me an uncertain smile before joining the line ahead of us. I feel the loss of his presence, but force myself to focus on Mrs. Northman.

When we've organized ourselves, she starts showing students one by one where to start on the structure. As she finishes briefing each student, she gestures for them to begin climbing, and watches for a second to make sure they follow her instructions.

She pauses for a few minutes when the last of the third graders are on the course, and we all watch in fascination as they go through it like it's the easiest thing ever. My eyes are drawn to Cloud over and over again, awed by the graceful way he pulls himself up the rock wall and manages to not even break a sweat by the end.

When the third graders are grouped at the base of the structure and the equipment is free, Mrs. Northman beckons the first second grader forward.

The boy who steps up looks nervous, and from the way he scrubs his hands on his shirt, he's dreading it too. I'm a little irritated then, wondering what kind of teacher would put us through this when clearly, we don't want to.

From the four classes I had with Mrs. Northman last week, I had the impression that she liked to challenge us, but this is just taking it way too far. Her face is expressionless, as always, giving away nothing.

I see her talking to the nervous boy, but I'm too far away still to hear exactly what she says. Once she's satisfied that he understood her instructions, she stood aside for him to step up to the rope ladder that is the beginning of the course.

The next student steps up to follow him, and so the cycle repeats. I notice that the path Nervous Boy takes is slightly different from the one Cloud and the others took, avoiding some of the more daring sections.

I feel a little relieved to know that we weren't expected to be good enough to climb a twenty-foot rock wall, but my stomach is still filled with nerves at the thought of doing it in front of the whole class.

A glance behind me tells me that Mai is thinking the exact same thing. Her eyes are uncertain as she watches the line slowly moving forward, and when she notices me watching her, her confident smile is forced.

By the time it comes to my turn I feel sick, dreading the very idea of what I'm about to do.

"Relax, Oaken," Mrs. Northman says as she finishes with the girl in front of me and turns her no-bullshit gaze on me. Her tone is sympathetic, despite her gruff words. "Just follow Miss Malven in front of you and you'll be fine." Her eyes shift to Mai behind me and I'm dismissed.

With no other option but to do as instructed, I wipe my palms against my shorts in an effort to stop the sweat pooling there.

Grabbing hold of the rope, I take a steadying breath and fix my gaze on the top.

An hour later and my arms, which had turned to the consistency of cooked spaghetti, were refusing to work properly anymore.

We're allowed a ten-minute break before starting up the grueling torture again, meaning most of us are making the most of every second.

"That was freakin' brutal," Mai complains, collapsing onto the floor beside where I'm already reclined. Sweat is making her curls stick to her face where they've come loose from her braid, and her carefully applied makeup is beginning to streak, making her look blotchy under her dark skin.

"Tell me about it," I say, just cringing at the thought of the sweat under my boobs and between my shoulder blades.

"Hey." Cloud plops down on my other side, and I feel a thrill go through me as our knees and shoulders brush. Whether or not he purposely meant to sit so close I don't know, and I suppose that's what couples do all the time, but it makes my heart warm all the same.

I'm disgusted to see that after the hell we've just been through, Cloud looks as though he's just gone for a leisurely jog, nothing like how I feel.

"I'm beginning to think that this whole wolf thing won't be so bad," I remark, "if one of the benefits is to have the body strength and stamina of The Rock."

They both laugh and some more of the tension from my earlier argument with Cloud fades away.

We're a few minutes into our designated break time when the voices of another group nearby reach my ears.

"They're so fucking annoying, always thinking they're better than everyone else," one guy is saying to the others, his voice filled with contempt.

"Ugh, I know right?" The girl who'd been in front of me on the course is the next one to speak. I can't see her clearly, but I can imagine the sneer on her delicate face. "That Oaken girl behind me was panting so loudly I could barely hear myself think."

They all laugh.

I flush red with shame as soon as I realize she's talking about me. As if I could have been more ashamed of my fitness level. If it wasn't obvious before that most students have a problem with those of us from Serenity Falls, I now have verbal confirmation.

"I heard the little princess is sleeping with the Hale prince," another girl says. "Saw them making out yesterday and everything, so must be true. What a slut."

I will myself to stop listening, to just block out their poisonous gossip and forget everything I've heard.

Easier said than done. They keep talking, insulting us and saying more nasty things about me. I have no idea why they would target me in particular, and any good feelings I'd managed to build up are disappearing rapidly.

"Completely full of shit," Cloud growls suddenly, and I realize with a jolt that he'd been listening to them, too.

"Obviously have nothing better to talk about," Mai adds, her calm face betrayed by the snapping fury in her brown eyes.

They're both tense, and I realize I am too.

"Alright, break time's over," Mrs. Northman calls, causing a mad scramble as everyone gets to their feet. I avoid even looking in the direction of the gossips, embarrassed and angry at just the memory of their words.

Is that really what everyone here thinks of us? Or did we just happen to overhear the main haters?

By the time we're in line and it comes back around to my turn, I've been working myself up into a brooding fury. I hate what everyone says about us when they don't know the first thing about any of us. It's unreasonable, and people like that always piss me off.

With those infuriating thoughts in mind, I prepare to follow the she-demon in front of me.

I don't know what spurred me to change course, or how I ever thought it could end well, but before I knew it I was at the base of the rock wall, completely off limits for those in my level. Especially a no-go for someone like me with no body strength to speak of.

Ignoring any better judgement that might be screaming inside me, and mildly surprised no one has called me back yet, I grab hold of the first plastic handholds and pull myself up.

I have to prove that I'm just as good as the rest of them.

That thought planted firmly at the forefront of my mind, I set my sights on the top of the wall, where I could jump across to the next platform and to safety.

Things go smoothly for the most part, the blood pumping steadily in my ears as I place first one hand on the next hold, pull myself up, and reach for the next hold. Pumped by my successful progress, I begin to climb faster and faster, building up a steady rhythm.

My first mistake is not realizing how far apart the handholds become the closer to the top I get. As I reach for my next hold I don't push myself far enough, falling short and scraping against the rough texture of the wall.

My whole balance thrown off, I cling one-handed to the wall, desperately trying to find a second handhold without pulling myself too far from the wall and gravity taking hold.

Unease rushes through me, knowing that I could so easily lose my grip and fall. Forcing myself to breathe normally, I try again for the next hold, exhaling in relief when I get it.

The only problem is, I don't have enough momentum to climb the final few feet and reach the platform.

My heart races as I realize for the first time exactly how dangerous a position I am in right now. With no harness, and no net below us, if I fell… there would be no coming back from that.

I watch, a sickening feeling in my stomach, as my fingers begin to slip on the plastic handholds as sweat forms on my hands.

Climbing a twenty-foot rock wall hadn't been my greatest idea, especially when angry. Trying to prove something to myself is one thing, but proving it to a group of petty teenagers – who are now twenty feet below me – can only be a recipe for disaster.

My fingers slip further and a strangled gasp escapes my lips. I'm going to die, and it's going to be very public and horrifically painful.

I just hope I don't land on someone and kill them, too.


	22. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 _Monday 8_ _th_ _September 2014_

When my fingers finally lost their grip and I began to fall back as gravity took hold, I fully expected to freefall until finally coming crashing to the ground. It's what should have happened, and what would have if it weren't for the large hand that came from above to grab hold of my arm.

I shriek as it happens, my whole body in panic mode as I look up into the intense green eyes of my savior.

 _Luca._

The muscles in his arms strain as he carefully pulls me up onto the metal platform he's positioned himself on. I collapse on the cold surface, hearing cheers from down below us. Peeking over the edge through the safety railing, I see everyone standing there staring up at us, their faces a mixture of astonishment and horror at what might have happened.

I don't see Cloud or Mai in the few seconds I look for them, but it's probably just as well; their reactions would be too much for my fragile state right now.

"Were you _trying_ to get yourself killed?" Luca snaps, effectively bringing my attention back to him. His eyes are snapping in fury, no doubt planning on throwing me off the platform himself. "I swear, if you were a wolf already and part of the pack…" he trails off, seeming to get a grip on himself.

Now my own anger is back, and it feels good for the fire spreading through my veins to cancel out the cold chill of fear. "What does it matter to you?" I demand, fed up with his arrogance and self-importance. "You've barely spoken two words to me in as many weeks. Why should I give you any kind of explanation?"

His expression softens a little, anger turning to irritation. Less like a lion about to maul me, and more like a kitten who's feathered toy just got taken away.

Whatever I was expecting him to do, it was not for him to lean forward and kiss me softly. His mouth is warm on mine, enticing me with the possibility of so much more.

I freeze, my brain refusing to function properly. _Stop this right now!_ I yell at myself, willing my arms to lift from my sides to push him away.

But they don't.

Luca is the first to pull back, his eyes wide as we stare at each other. "Why you?" he murmurs, eyes searching my face. I don't know what he's looking for there, but all I feel is disgust at myself for the way I reacted.

I stand abruptly, clinging to the rail in case my legs decided to give out and send me plummeting back to Earth. No reason to give Luca another chance to save me.

Refusing to say another word to him, I begin making my way to the other end of the platform, where a flying fox leads to the next section and a step closer to getting the hell away from Luca and all the feelings he stirs in me.

Grabbing hold of the hard-plastic handle thing, I push off from the platform, feeling an exhilarating rush as I fly through the air, only for it to end moments later as I reach the other end.

Mrs. Northman is fuming by the time my feet are on solid ground again. She has that calm look to her that makes it seem like you'll get away with being an idiot, but as soon as she opens her mouth I know I'm in trouble.

"What the hell do you think you were doing, pulling a stunt like that?" she demands, sounding very much like Luca had, minus the veiled threat. She cuts me off before I can say anything. "I don't care, actually. Luca, take her into the lobby and wait there until class is finished," she adds, directing her words toward Luca, who had just reappeared.

I'm mildly embarrassed by the whole class staring at me, some of them – the ones gossiping about me earlier – were laughing not-so-subtly behind their hands. Cloud and Mai are staring at me, matching looks of concern on their faces. The sight of my boyfriend makes guilt flood through me.

I'd kissed his brother – _again_ – and didn't even know how to feel about it. Apart from guilty, of course.

Not having a chance to talk to them in front of everyone, I submit myself to following Luca out of the room.

Slouching onto the closest bench, I make myself comfortable for the next half hour of self-pity. Completely ignoring Luca, who's sat himself down on a bench opposite from me across the room, I stare at the floor between my shoes.

How do I manage to mess things up so royally? Aside from my impending transition into a furry monster, life has been pretty much perfect for the last few weeks. I had no idea that moving to Serenity Falls would result in actual _friends_ , let alone a boyfriend and someplace I might finally belong.

And I just put both of those things on the line, thanks to letting my anger get out of control. Back in Cali I was different. Cool-headed under pressure, not prone to arguments or confrontation, more of a 'lover not a fighter' type of person than someone who has to prove herself to a bunch of gossips.

I don't even want to go down that particular path right now: I'll only get myself worked up again. My thoughts drift to Cloud again, instead.

Do I tell him what happened with Luca? I didn't ask for it to happen, and sure I didn't exactly _stop_ him… but I was clearly in shock from my near-death experience (resulting from my emotions getting the best of me), and he shouldn't have taken advantage of that by catching me further off guard by kissing me!

No. I won't say anything to Cloud, because it's never going to happen again. Luca is at fault here, not me, and I won't make the situation into more than it actually was. Telling Cloud would be a mistake, especially with our relationship so new.

(Add words after this to NaNoWriMo word count)

"Why'd you do it?"

I look up from the hole I was burning in the floor with my glare to see Luca watching me. He looks unnaturally serious, no sign of the flirtatious smirk or easy-going grin I'd become accustomed to. He still sent butterflies through my stomach, though, and that's enough for me to be pissed at him.

"I should be asking _you_ that," I hiss at him, not believing my own ears. Is he serious right now? He _kisses_ _me_ like that, after weeks of ignoring me, and now chooses to reprimand me for being a little reckless?

He blinks a couple of times, ridiculously long lashes brushing his cheeks each time, distracting me slightly. Why do guys always have such long eyelashes when girls are forced to spend a heap of money to achieve the same look? It's just not fair.

"I wasn't thinking," he finally mutters, and it's his turn to stare daggers at the floor.

I snort. "Neither was I," I say, and we go back to ignoring each other.

It stays like that for the rest of the wait, but right then I couldn't care less. I should have been ashamed at my actions, berating myself for my loss of control, but something in my brain isn't getting the memo.

More than anything, I'm angry.

Angry at Luca for kissing me like it's nothing. Angry at Mom for sending me to this backwards school, after moving us to the strangest town in America, of course. Angry at Dad for dying and making Mom move us away in the first place.

"Miss Oaken."

Mrs. Northman's voice snaps me from my inner turmoil, and I look up slowly. She's got the classic disapproving adult stance: arms crossed, straight back, raised eyebrows, pursed lips.

Behind her is the rest of the class, all pretending to be making their way to the outside doors, while surreptitiously listening in on the verbal beat down I'm about to get. I see no sign of Cloud or Mai, but I try not to look too closely. It's already bad enough that I've embarrassed myself like this.

I stand up from my slumped position, trying to seem somewhat respectful and hopefully get myself out of having to polish silver or some other medieval chore.

Thankfully, Mrs. Northman appears very aware of the lingering audience, and turns to them with her disapproving glare. "Don't you all have somewhere else to be?" she demands, her commanding tone leaving no room for argument.

They scurry out quickly enough after that, leaving me alone with Mrs. Northman, Luca and Elle. The sudden silence is deafening, and completely awkward.

"Luca and Elle, I'll see you in an hour for the next class," Mrs. Northman says to the two older students, her eyes never leaving mine.

They hesitate for a moment, and I wonder if they want to stay to keep me from bodily harm at the hands of our teacher, or to witness my further chastising. Finally, the automatic doors close behind them, and I see Luca turn to glance at me for a moment before disappearing out of sight. Ignoring the flash of emotion I saw in his eyes, I focus on the task at hand; begging for my freedom.

I look back at Mrs. Northman, mouth opening to begin my apologies, but stop short as I take in her sudden change in attitude.

Her arms are no longer crossed, and while her posture is still straight and professional, her shoulders are relaxed as she watches me with an understanding expression. "Why don't we talk in my office?" she suggests, motioning to one of the closed door behind me.

I'm stunned by the total three-sixty, and follow her into the office in silence.

"Take a seat." I'm pointed to a chair in front of her desk, and an image flashes through my mind of all the terrified students who have no doubt been seated there in the past. And here I was thinking that my seventh grade English teacher had been a nightmare; Mrs. Northman, in the little time I've spent in her fabulous company, makes him look like a little boy who stepped on a Lego piece.

"Look," I start, before she even gets a chance to circle the desk and sit in her own chair. "I know what I did was stupid, I really do. I wasn't thinking at all, and I cannot believe I acted so recklessly." I suck in a deep breath to stop the word vomit, willing my nerves to settle the hell down.

She stares at me wordlessly, leaning back in her chair, arms laid along the rests. It's silent for long enough for me to squirm underneath her heavy gaze.

"You know, I've been teaching her for about seven years now," she says finally, shifting her gaze to somewhere over my shoulder. "I've seen plenty of girls and boys come through these doors, some of them for each of the five years, others… for a much shorter period."

What on Earth is she getting at? This is lightyears from the lecture I was expecting, and her choice of an opening topic has completely thrown me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, slightly impatient. If I'm going to be punished, I'd rather she just got it over with as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Her eyes fix on me once again, but something in their depths has shifted, and I don't like what I see. "You probably don't know this – not many students do – but I wasn't born with the abilities or capabilities of most of your classmates. I come from the same origins and all, but I'm included in the gene pool of those lucky enough to escape the full responsibilities of someone such as yourself.

"Sure, I'm stronger and faster than most humans, which can be as much a curse as it is a blessing. It ties me to this world, and as much as I try not to let it bother me, I can never be just a normal woman."

I don't know what to say to any of it. It seems like she's confessing her deepest regrets, but with no indication of what it has to do with me. "So, there are kids born into this… _life_ , who don't end up turning all hairy and bloodthirsty?" I ask, jumping on the one part of her speech that I understood.

A hint of a smile edges her lips, but her expression turns pitiful. My heart, elated with a sliver of hope a moment ago, swiftly deflates.

"Unfortunately, you're one of the few who it is almost guaranteed that the Change will happen to."

Her words hurt, but not as much as the pity lingering in her eyes. "What does this have to do with what happened today?" Irritation is building inside me, and that place behind my breastbone aches, thirsting for the fuel to ignite the fire there.

Mrs. Northman leans forward in her seat to rest her elbows on the desk. "As I said, I've seen cases of every kind come through this gym. Some have been accepting of the life that has been chosen for them, and strive to learn as much as they can in order to control the more primal sides of themselves."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "And the rest?"

She sits back in her chair again. "Anger motivates them, guiding their thoughts and actions. It dictates the kinds of friends they make and the decisions they make. For a little while it keeps them afloat, but eventually the rage consumes them. It burns them up on the inside, until nothing of their former self is left. Sometimes they realize their behavior and seek a better road. But most of the time it only ends in death."

 **I just wanted to say, thankyou so much to those of you who actually read through this whole thing! There are about 10 chapters left of this story, and while my main priority is updating on Wattpad, I will make sure I update here too :)**

 **Also, if you've just read the newer chapters I've posted, there are a lot of changes to the earlier chapters that might be worth a read!**


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